Evening Star Newspaper, March 2, 1930, Page 31

REDUCTION IN SEA FORCES WILL AFFECT LAND NAVY Congressional Opposition Likely If Move Is Made to Shut Down Shore Establishments. HILE the eyes of the states- men of the world turn to- ward London, which pro- vides the stage for the Five- Power Naval Conference, ob- servers in Washingtol soeculate on the possibility of a cur- tatiment in the near future in the shore activities of the naval establishment. Any reduction in seagoing forces logically will lead to a retrenchment in the shore establishments, and the ques- tion thus raised has a political no less than an economical aspect, for Congress tally interested in navy yards, am- on depots, hospitals, training schools and so on. If the administra- tion moves to shut down any consider- able number of shore establishments, Congressional opposition is pretty sure to develop. Yet reduction ashore fol- lows as a necessary corollary to reduc- tion at sea, and, from the taxpayers' point of view, unnecessary duplication of activities of the Navy on land is just as expensive, perhaps more so, than the maintenance on sea of more ships than the United States really needs. 1,000 Shore Establishments. ‘The shore establishments of the Navy aggregate more than 1,000, and the capital investment represents many hundreds of millions of dollars. In- cluding civilian personnel, the Navy has more men ashore than afloat. “When the man in the street thinks of the Navy, he thinks of it in terms of a squadron at sea, with officers and blue- Jackets carrying on the many duties required in a modern man-of-war. The eurrent conception is not altogether in accord with the facts, for shore activ- ities of the Navy may be found from one end of the country to the other. Even in Nevada. hundreds of miles from the Pacific Coast, the Navy has just built a huge ammunition depot, the spot being chosen for its remote- ness. Yet a like this would be of prime importance to the Navy in time of war, for a battleship or a cruiser is no better than a merchant- man if it has not the ammunition for its big guns. Cost of Yards Relatively Small. ‘The navy yards, of course, are the best known of the shore establish- ments, but their annual cost repre- sents only two-sevenths, approximately, of the total cost of the shore establish- ments of the Navy. The real test of a navy yard is its service to the fleet. Congress, however, heeds other consid- erations, for a navy yard in any dis- trict gives work to thousands of men. A Senator may urge on the floor re- duction in armaments, or even disarm- ament, but let the administration sug- gest that it plans to close down the 0d | ghich establish standard time for the practically every shor activity of the Navy. Each provides a certain amount of work for civilians, difficult any attempt to reduce the Navy's shore activities. Five Yards in East;Fleet on Pacific. The bulk of the navy yards are on the Atlantic Coast yards high and dry. peace time they work to do and 't Portsmouth, Bos ton, New York, Philadelphia, Norfolk, Washington and Charleston. 1s | the Governme®t for the production of care | NOW prints more than 2,600 charts from afloat were expanded, and for that! reason, if for no other, it is the part of wisdom, as naval experts see it, for the United States to maintain other yards in peace. war comes. New York Against Philadelphia. If they are rated by the service they render the fleet, the yards at Ports- mouth and Charleston probably would be the first to be eliminated. might be the next to go, though a point in Boston’s favor is the fact that it can take care of the new aircraft carriers. If all but two of the yards on the Atlantic were eliminated, the vard at Norfolk would surely remain, located as it is at the mouth of Ches- apeake Bay and about half way be- tween Florida and Maine. New York or Philadelphia, in all likelihood, would be selected for preservation with it. The day is still remote, however, when the Atlantic Coast will see a reduction in navy yards, notwithstanding the strong economic arguments that might be advanced for closing at least two or three of them; for each yard has its friends and supporters in Congress. The Pacific Coast has two navy yards, one at Mare Island, San Prancisco, and the other in Puget Sound. These yards are of prime importance, now that the bulk of the fleet finds its headquarters in Pacific waters. They are of value, too, for another reason. There are no shipbuilding plants on the Pacific with adequate facilities for building modern warships. These two yards, however, have such facilities. ~The same is true of certain yards on the Atlantic Coast. Great School of Shipbuilding. The Navy, to put it in another way, is a great school of shipbuilding. Its yards and its architects keep alive an industry and a profession that, outside the Navy, have been having a hard time in the United States. Compared with Great Britain, our private shipbuilding industry offers little upon which the Government could depend in an emer- gency. The navy yards, on the other hand, have the equipment to build many a new ship for the fleet if the time ever comes when they are needed in a hurry. The United States maintains a navy yard at Pearl Harbor, our great mid- pacific base in the Hawalian Islands, and another one at Cavite, in the Phil- ippines. The latter is the greatest re- pair yard we have. The Asiatic' fleet has more than 70 ships, most of them small ones. Yet they need in the ag- gregate a vast amount of repair work, which {s done at Cavite. From one year's end to the next Cavite is a busy repair shop and upon the thoroughness with which it does its work depends the efficiency of the American naval forces in the Far East. Yards Do Different Work. ‘The navy yards cover in the aggre- gate a large amount of ground. That at Mare Island, for example, covers more than 1,500 acres. The number of buildings in each yard will run any- where from 125 to more than 500. In addition, there are the railway tracks, sewers, overhead and underground wires and cahles, power plants, with expensive appliances and machinery; coal and oll fuel plants, fences and walls, steam, water and air mains, marine railways for docking small craft, reservoirs, tanks and other public works, locomo- :}:‘. u!:.o'n motor trucks !:nc: er transportal agencies. yard is a vast industrial enterprise. n have begun to | W of submarines. The Washington yard, until°recently the “home port” of the President’s yacht, the Mayflower, has a naval gun factory, and here also the | Navy's school for divers is located. The | ‘ashington yard also has a model basin | m which tests of various kinds are carried out. A total of 118 models were | tested last year, of which 67 were ship | models. The basin also carries on tests | of airplane hulls and floats for the | Bureau of Aeronautics. i Modernizing Ships Costs Millions. The fleet during the year requires a vast amount of repair work. Owing to | | the fact that the United States has | built few ships since the Washington Conference, the average age of the ves- sels in the service has been increasing. | The older the ship the more repair work as a rule is required. In addi- tion to repairs, the navy yards carry | | out certain improvements in naval ves- | sels of various 3 | The modernization of battleships has | given the yards considerable work. In January, 1929, Congress authorized the modernization of the Oklahoma and Nevada at a cost not to exceed $13,- 500,000. The Oklahoma was sent to the Philadelphia yard and the Nevada to L‘nhe Norfolk yard. ter in the year Congress authorized $14,800,000 for modernizing the Penn- sylvania and the Arizona. These were among the biggest individual jobs the navy yards have recently received. Modernization consists of the installa- tion of additional protection against submarines and air attack, reboilering |and the installation of new cruising | | turbines, the elevation of the turret | | guns, the raising of certain of the sec- ondary battery guns, the replacement of the present anti-aircraft batteries by batteries of 5-inch anti-aircraft guns |and the installation of new masts and | modernized fire control. | Activities Cover Wide Range. Of historic and sentimental interest is the work which the Boston Navy Yard has done in restoring the famous frigate Constitution. When this labor of love is completed Old Ironsides again will be ready to go to sea. The London Conference may take no account of the Constitution in measuring 'American naval. strength, but when the repair work is finished this historic vessel will be ready to give new inspiration to the American Navy for another 100 years. Yet the navy yards represent but two- sevenths of the cost of the Navy shore activities. The other activities cover a wide range. One of the most important single activities is the Naval Ol a- tory in Washington, manned by a staff of trained astronomers. “The observa- tory sends out daily the time siy country and enable mariners at sea to ascertain his chronometer error and his longitude by observation. The signals are tted by the naval radio THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, BY ANNE HARD. T the Naval Conference in Lon- don there has been much dis- cussion of tonnage in ships, of caliber in guns and of numbers in personnel. There has not been—nor will there be—any discussion of something equally important in the making of a Navy—namely, the \flunmy of the enlisted men. For, obviously, that is a matter which can never be a subject of international negotiation. ‘The American Navy of recent years has evolved a system of picking its re- cruits new to our own practice and unique among the navies of the world. It is creating—already with marked suc- transmi stations at Arlington, Annapolis and Key West, and the noon signal goes out by wire also. Observatory Gives Special Service. ‘The observatory also supervises the repair and inspection of the aero- nautical and aerologial instruments for the ships and the aircraft of the Navy. The astronomers stationed here main- tain observations for absolute positions r A dry dock cannot be | the built overnight if the emergency of | of the fundamental stars, and the in- dependent determination, by observa- tion of the sun, of the positions of the stars, moon and planets with reference to the Equator and the equinoxes, The observatory likewise supplies data to assist in preparation of the Ameri- can Ephemeris and the Nautical Al- hydrographic office is a naval activity of particular interest to Amer- ican sailors. It is the sale agency of nautical charts in all parts of the world, excepting the United States proper and our insular possessions. It its own plates on its own . It is charged, among other duties. with directing United States hydro- graphic surveys in all foreign waters and with preparing pilot charts and sailing data. It maintains branch of- fices, in charge of naval officers, in all principal maritime cities of the. United States. Several years ago it in- stituted a radio broadcast service by which information of dangers to navi- gation are reported by radio. Air Service Requires Many Fields. The Naval Air Service has many ground establishments. It maintains air stations and flying fields at many ts. Tae deuhvm;m zg: )-'mum made it necessary for avy to be “air minded” as well as sea mlrl{led, and that means naturally a correspond- ing increase in shore activities. Am- munition depots are another important shore activity. These depots are built 50 as to be able to supply the fleet at sea quickly with ammunition 1n case of | care—another duty for the versatile Marine Corps; and, if possible, they must be located where if a fire or an explosion occurs, the damage to civilians will be the least depots are a closely parallel shore ac- tivity. for it is upon these depots that the Navy must rely for fuel reserves. The Navy requires many hoepitals to take care of its sick and disabled. These are all on shore, and they are so placed that a hospital may be found near most of the centers of naval op- erations. About 25 hospitals are permanently maintained, in addition to d\sgensnles and the hospital facilities with the fleet. The Marine Corps functions under orders of the Secretary of the Navy and the marines are part of the Navy. It has many shore activities in conti- nental United States. These include barracks, training fields, depots, rifle: ranges, etc. Every navy yard has a marine guard, which is assigned to many other shore activities. Four Prisons Maintained. ‘The Navy has four prisons—at Cavite, in the Philippines; Mare Island, Calif., | Parris Island, S. C., and outh, N. H It has a powder factory at In- dian Head, Md., and proving grounds at Dahlgren. Radio compass stations and radio stations extend the activities of the Navy over a wide area. Then the Navy has land reservations, rifle ranges, torpedo stations and visual sig- nal stations. To the future naval offi- | cer the academy at Annapolis is the most important shore activity of the Navy. Rated by experts as one of the finest educational institutions in_the | world, Annapolis will remain with West | Point as the great national universities | of the United States. | _This is by no means all. There are many activities on shore listed as mis- cellaneous. In Annapolis or near by you will find a naval experiment sta- tion, a Government farm, a dairy farm, & hog farm and at Bellevue, just out- side the District of Columbfa, the Navy has a research laboratory that carries on inevestigations into many fields of science, The War College at Newport is the Navy’s principal graduate school. What One District Covers. As good a way as any to illustrate | the wide scope of the shore establish- ments of the Navy is to take the activ- ities in one or two naval districts. The 1st Naval District has its headquarters in Boston. Under its commander there are the following shore activities: A radio compass, a radio and a visual station at Bar Harbor; trial course at lock Island; the navy yard, marine barracks and two annexes in South Boston and Lockwood Basin; a radio station, & fleld, a fuel depot site and & gas chamber, all at Boston; a radio compass and visual station at Cape Elizabeth; an air station and & guarded with great | p; ible. Fuel | desiry cess—the Navy of a democracy. Gone from that Navy is the “hand.” There is no such thing as a “common sailor” any more. “We don’t want him,” says the Navy. “We don’t take him. What we want is selected men, and what we develop is trained men.” It has been pointed out in naval dis- cussions that the British Navy totals only 80,793 enlisted men, compared to our own 84,500. But the British fig- ure leaves out the potential help of the Australians and of sundry Ca n, South African and New Zealand forces, totaling 5,084; it also omits the MARCH 2, Civic Life as Well as Battle. 2,800 in the naval air service and 3,912 in the auxiliary service. Our figure in- cludes every one on every “beefboat” and hospital ship. ‘The total strength of our enlisted personnel is limited by our appropri- ations. It can be extended by paying less to more people, contracted by pay- ing more to fewer people. It varies up and down around a median line of about 84,000. Personnel Program Neglected. American naval experts ferquently express regret that up to the present time no personnel program has accom- panied any building program. The five new light cruisers to be commissioned within the year, they say, will require about 3,160 men. How will they be provided? At the same time, our 16 battleships in full commission this last year had an allowance for only 91.9 per cent of their full complement, our present 10 first- line cruisers had only 92.6 per cent, our 2 first-line aircraft carriers only 87.5 per cent and our 103 first-line destroy- ers (lnly 85.5 per cent of their comple- ment. In other words, our appropriations have not been sufficlent to man the existing Navy properly, although every 1930—PART TWO. Ours a Democratic Navy Gone Is the “Common Sailor’” — He’s Now a Man Preparing for Independent BLUEJACKETS ARE TRADITIONAL MEAT FOR CHINESE RICKSHAW COOLIES. . —Drawn for The Sunday Star by Cyrus L. Balridge. effort was made to economize in the numbers of enlisted men required. Yet, in spite of the fact that it is badly undermanned, our Navy is daily strengthening its determination to hand pick its enlisted men. For new inventions in machinery are “new” only for a day. “Secret devices” ar: rapidly known and copied by com- peting navies. It is not merely um machinery, but upon men, in the analysis, that the ultimate strength of all navies is founded. Our Navy's whole theory is in many respects different from that of, for example, Great Britain. For the British the navy is a worldly career to be chosen by ordinary men as a life work like any other. = Anclent tradition operates to keep it so in mod- ern, democratic’ England. The British youth who enlists must be “not less than 15% years old and not more than 173, years old.” He enlists for 12 years. When he emerges close to the age of 30 he may or may not be unfit for a landsman’s_life. British theory of his enlistment ex- actly parallels British tradition in the officer class, for which the age of enter- ing naval training was just recently raised to the senility of 13 years. ‘The enlisted man may resign from the British Navy under the 12-year period only by showing strong personal |,q,, need, such as contributing to the sup- gon of aged and infirm parents, or by | Gri uying his release. Where the British Navy looks to see that its recruit is not too old, our Navy | Huni looks to see that he is not too young. We seek to be sure that he is mature enough for free choice and we refuse |}k to keep unwilling workers. At that, our men are not exactly aged. Twenty-five thousand of them are between 21 and 24 and half of them are between 21 and 29 years old. The boy of 17 is accepted only he can show all sorts of whether he will re-enlist or not. outside upward for enlistment is 21, and if he is 18 or younger he may choose, when he attains his majority, whether to remain in the service. Staying because they wished to, more than 72 per cent of the total men in the Navy re-enlisted this last year. The large majority of them were second- term men or better. It is a Navy saying that if & man once re-enlists he is theirs for life. the end of the first four-year term. (Continued on Fourth Page.) ‘The The Story the Week Has Told BY HENRY W. BUNN, \HE following is a brief sum- mary of the most impor- tant news of the world for the seven days ended March 1: FRANCE—On February 25 Camille Chautemps presented himself to the Chamber with his new government and read his ministerial declaration. It was a very discreet document; substantially ‘Tardieu’s program, with 'some, not great, proposed extension of “produc- tive” expenditure for the behoof of industry and culture and of ex- penditure for social amelioration, some, not great, tax reductions beyond those proposed by Tardieu; the policy to be pursued at the Naval Conference to be a faithful continuation of that in- stituted by Tardieu. Eviden! M. Chautemps was de- feated by the votes on which he had counted of certain members of the Left Center who felt that the overthrow of the Tardieu government was, under the circumstances, a somewhat wanton roceeding. M. Herriot was talking through his hat when he exclaimed: “There are in the groups associated with the Right enemies of the re- publican regime. There are others who lesire to see priests back in the schools.” ‘The rejection of M. Chautemps left the situation very much in the air. Obviously there is no clear majorit; for the Right or Left, in view of whic! it is doubtful that the present Cham- ber can live out its normal term. Once only has a Chamber failed to do so, and new elections just now would be internationally embarrassing; as re- gards the Naval Conference and the Young plan. The Left is confident, and apparently justly so, that general elec- pump site for water supply at Chat- ham; a naval hospital and radio sta- tion at Fourth Clff; a reservation at Frenchmans Bay, Me.; an ammunition depot and marine barracks at Hing- ham; a bridge approach at Kittery, Me.; a reservation at Malden; a fuel station and radio station.at Melville, R. L; a naval station, hospital training station, radio station, training station annex, torpedo station, a marine bar- racks, two torpedo stations, a Govern- ment landing. War College Big Item. There are also the War College, a convalescent bullding, a visual signal station and a trial course at Newport; a radio compass, radio station and vis- ual station at North Truro, Mass.; a hospital, a navy yard, gas chamber, marine barracks, radio station, prison and landing at Portsmouth; a radio compass and visual station at Prices , R. L; trial courses at Province- town, Mass., and Rockland, Me.; radio station sites at Siasconsett and South Wellfleet, a destroyer and submarine base at Squantum; radio compass and signal stations at Sulfside, Mass., and radio compass and Thatcher Island. In the 3d Naval District we find radio and radio compass stations at Amagansett; an ordnance depot in Zaldwni, Long Ieland; a medical supply depot, naval hospital and a supply depot in Brookl, Fire Islane mmunitio- depot at Fort Lafayette; ammunition depot and ma- | rine barracks at Iona Island and Lake Denmark, N. J.; a submarine base, | mine _depo New London; navy yard, radio station marine racks, gas chamber, fleet landing, district headquarters and radio | station in New York; an air station at Sacketts Harbor; a radio mm sta- tion at Sandy-Hook and a lo station at Sayville, N. Y. To operate at sea a navy must have many “roots” on shore. And the Amer- jcan Navy, whatever its futlire size, must continue to have adequate shore tions in the immediate future would give them a working Chamber ma- | Godle Jority. The situation is fascinating. ‘There have been 19 governments since Clemenceau became premier. As every one expected, President Doumergue sent for Tardieu. The lat- ter, recoj g that the only kind of government of which reasonable strength and stability might be hoped would be one closely assimilated to that republican union over which Poincare presided from July, 1926, to November, 1928, and, doubting his ability to form such a government, advised the Presi- dent to call on Poincare. The latter, not feeling himself sufficiently recov- ered from recent operations, declined, and the President again turned to Tar- dieu, who reluctantly accepted to try. But he at once encountered a ter- rific rebuff. The Radical Socialists of the Chamber met and resolved that they would not participate in a government headed by Tardieu, but would consent to participate in a government of which Tardieu should be a member, provided he were neither premier nor minister of the interior. ‘Tardieu, however, whether out of obstinacy or from disinterested regard to the commonweal, persisted. The situation is not clear, but the general indication from the dispatches is that, the Radical Socialists continuing for ward, he will bring back his late go ernment with no important change ex- cept that, of course, some one must be substituted for M. Cheron as finance minister. Possibly were the man so substituted fairly acceptable to the Left and were certain pledges given in re- spect of taxation policy, such a govern- ment might win practically solid sup- port from the minor groups of the Left Center and hold it over the period of the Naval Conference and past definite institution of the Young plan, might even win appreciable support from Rad- ical Soclalists dissident from their party’s stand. Suppose such a government formed and rejected by the Chamber. Briand (said to be most reluctant to do so0) might undertake to form a government of republican union, and, of course, there's Poincare, who, if he considered that general elections must be averted at all hazards, could be counted on to sacrifice his health to the commonweal. i SPAIN.—On February 27 Senor Sanchez Guerra, one-time Conservative premier and the same who last year led a revolt of sorts against the dictator- ship of Primo de Rivera, made an eagerly awaited speech at a theater in Madrid. The dispatches I have read quote him only very meagerly and fail to make clear the precise import of the speech. But perhaps (indeed, it seems to me fairly certain that) he deliberate- ly avoided committing himself in set terms on the all-important question whether or no he favored overthrow of the monarchy and establishment of a republic. (The Republicans had hoped that he would definitely declare himself for a republic.) Apparently he denounc- ed King Alfonso and sufficiently in- dicated advocacy of his ousting, and the following quoted declaration is cer- tainly not unfriendly to the idea of a republic. “When I was a young man, I favored the monarchy. Now I can see youth and events moving toward a republic.” A crowd of some size outside the theater demonstrated riotously for a republic and ¢lashed with the police, with the result of some broken heads and their quick dispersal. The' incident may or may not prove of high significance. iy S RUSSIA.—Within the last 12 months | tiated 73 churches ™ in the City of Moscow alone have been Moscow Soviet closed by order of the t. The congress of the Moscow League of the Godless, in session the other day to put the finish- ing touches on its five-year anti-Chrise tian plan, adopted the slogan, “For a less Moscow, for a Godless Collec~ tivized Village.” On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the institution of “militant godlessness,” an “anti-God mass” is to be celebrated and high carnival will be held. “Art, literature and the theater will mobilized,” under the orders of the league. All Kulaks are to be deported from regions of “full collectivization” (their property having been confiscated) to “remote places, either uninhabited or grievously lacking in laborers.” It is said that there are 700,000 Kulak families in the Russias. * ok ok X IRAQ AND NEJD.—On February 24, somewhere in the Persian Gulf, guests of Sir Francis Humphreys, the new British high commissioner in Irag, on board the British sloop Lupin, King Feisal of Iraq (Col. Lawrence’s very great friend and coadjutor) and Ibn Saud, Sultan of Nejd and King of Hejaz (the same whom the lamented Capt. Shakespeare drew to the allied side in the Great War), signed a treaty of arbitration and friendship between their reas:cuve countries, thus ending, it is to hoped, a protracted border war, The treaty provides for outlaw- ing of tribal raiders; extradition of fu- gitives from justice; settlement by ar- bitration of disagreements concerning the interpretation of the treaty; estab- iishment of a permanent frontier com- mission, etc. It is said that the most beautiful antique courtesy marked the confer- ence. King Feisal declared that he wished an end to the ancient feud be- tween his house and that of Ibn Saud, and Ibn Saud expressed hearty concur- rence. The Sultan was conveyed ashore on a British boat, from the masthead of which fluttered his green flag with the Arabic inscription: “There is only one God and Mohammed is his prophet.” The British know how to do this sort of thing. * ok ok SANTO DOMINGO.—They have been rowlnb“‘ it in in the Dominican Re- public. forces gained complete control of Santo Domingo, the capital, and Presi- dent Vasquez was a refugee at the United States legation. Mr. Charles B. Curtis, our Minister, undertook the of- fice of intermediary between the insur- gents and the government or, if you please, the late government. The oc- cupation of the capital was bloodless. ‘The development is ascribed to the an- nouncement by President Vasquez of candidacy for re-election as President, elections being scheduled for May. He is charged with violating a pledge in so0 doing, and the insurgents demanded the setting up of a provisional govern- ment with a view to honest elections. | posite Senor Urena, one of the chiefs of the insurrection, has assumed the office of provisional President. UNITED STATES.—George Haven Putnam, head of the publishing firm of G. P. Putnam’s dean of Amer- ican publishers, is dead at 86. He served in the Civil War, reaching the grade of major. He was a notable €op! 3 friendship, of 3 League of Nations and of domestic political betterments. Princeton is establishing of Public and International e, of course, seel to give a damental background for a better un- derstanding of the new movement in national and world affairs,” the school | disco will have for its chief raison d’etre the special training of men who t to enter public life. It is thus feren- from the School of International relations being Hopkins, whose object is to research work in international affairs and to train teachers in that field. Princeton, which has figured very prom- inently in both the intellect; and Onm!'ebmlry 26 revolutionary | in established at Johns | the fru:ucn.l sides of our n‘uonsl) m’: boasting many august names), carrying on a great tradition. The Princeton Triangle Club, start- RED TAPE CUT FOR VISAS OF AMERICANS ABROAD State Department Concludes Recip- rocal Agreements With 33 Countries. BY JOHN HANNA. HE American traveler’s budget for 1930 will require a smaller allot- ment for visa fees than for any other year since the World War. His o]vn mvemh::em. hfi:’:{o will apparently go on charging for a passport. If the traveler is a resi- dent, but not a citizen of the United States, and at the same time not en- titled to a foreign passport, he will find his travel documents about as expensive as ever and almost as much tangled in red tape. The present visa situation represents a real gain for the traveler. Two years ago he would have paid $10 each for British, French, Italian, Norwegian and Swedish visas. Today the British gov- ernment is the only one of this grou which exacts such an exorbitant charge for the consul's perfunctory stamp which enables the tourist to spend his money in the United Kingdom. The State Department, under author- ity of a law enacted February 25, 1925, has concluded reciprocal agreements for the reduction or abolition of non- immigrant visa fees with 33 countries. The following list shows the present ;:? &1 t.s‘e pfl?cmA‘xln 11‘1)""" countries e visa o erican pass, . The asterisk indicates eounMngvmx which reciprocal agreements have been concluded. aratis. Count; *Albania Argenting “Austria . Trangit visa, asc. Viss Teauired: 5 For three Honths: i *Belgium Belgian Co) 25 for longer pe- iods. D | port costs $5, but it tion for the immigration work of foreign representatives is about $500, If the cost of a passport is meant ceimburse the Government for courtesy in giving its citizens an iden- tification document, the charges are ex- cessive in the extreme. If charge is a revenue measure—and such a purpose is universally condemned tv‘lu b&at inur?numnl oplnhm—lt’he D‘; ce is a burden imposed largely uj persons in modest circumstances. No good reason has ever been ad- vanced in support of a policy that com- pels traveling school teachers and col- lege students to pay about half of the expense of the American foreign service. A British citizen pays $1.80 for a passport valid for five years at a yearly charge of 24 cents. A Canadian pass- is good for five years and can be renewed for five more years at a cost of $2. A French pass- port costs $1.40 and an Italian $2. If the American were reduced to $2 and the made valid for five years, every legiti- mate purpose of the passport regula- be subserved and the Gov- ernment amply mwmm‘upenmd umx:r its necessary outlay in p use- ful certificates of identification. ‘The League of Nations, in 1920 in Paris and in 1926 and 1927 in Geneva, has held significant conferences dealing chiefly with passport and visa 3 The e conferences have been in- fl‘uentlll in ohh.l.n&' the mnpue'nlfln ns of passport regula thmuglum Eu- rope and the practical aboliti of the compulsory visa system. The conference of 1927 repeated the 1926 recommendations for the adoption of an internationally recognized docu- ment for of no nationality. A considerable number of countries (not including the United States) have agreed to issue to such persons the type of document recommended by the u | League conference. required. S Sapart or visa Tequired. Transit visa, $1. Gratis. Gratis. Sk "Tor 'S0 "entey sgiourn limited to giag T 20 Transit ., 81 Forlourists Hraver. 'l:l‘ .ln groups, $1. ssport ired. transit visa, 35, Gratis. Snads 1 ith g ki when | THAG ! 3 certific e the United For journey in trans- 1 ‘h. th:: eight days no visa is re- quired. yo vl - No s ul in tes. Monaco ; *Netherlands .. Nicaragus :Norway .. *Panams '... required. rea visa viid ‘The greatest loss is at | 2 ed 37 years ago by Booth Tarkington, | {urh now has a very fine theater, known as the McCarter Theater, more than half the cost (nearly a half million), hav- ing been contributed by Mr. McCarter, '88. It seats about & flmuund.fiemm and is said to have the edge on all other college theaters. * k% % THE NAVAL CONFERENCE.—The present indication is that the Naval Conference will achieve a treaty effect- ing important limitations of arma- ments and important regulations for submarine warfare; that it will not ef- fect important reductions, but will, on the contrary, allow certain extraordi- nary construction, ie., building up to realize the ratio allowances instead of scrapping down to the same end. Ap- parently our transcendental gesture at the Washington Conference is not to be imitated. Apparently too, in view of the probability of rejection of such provisions by our Senate, the treaty will not contain political provisions of a securlty character, making toward put- ting teeth in the Kellogg-Briand pact or what you Hk:. ke NOTES.—Cardinal Merry del Val, one of the most distinguished ecclesi- astics of the past 30 years, is dead at 65. His most important service was as papal secretary of state during the pontificate of Pope Plus X, from 1903 to 1914, In that role he was the center of much strenuous controversy, being an extreme conservative on the issues. He was a man of extraordinary scholarship within the limits proper to an ecclesiastic, of exquisite manners, great conversational ability and charm. was of a distinguished family, his er being Spanish Ambassador Great Britain, and his: brother, the Marques Alfonso Merry del Val, at pres- ent lw)d!n, that post. formerly Shah of Persia, died he American Hospital at Paris on February 27 at the age of 32. His early death aj irs to have been the result of high living and it was his absentee- ism and ‘penment and undignified pur- suit of pleasure in Europe that he owed his dethronement, by resolution of the Persial Majlis, in October, 1925. He was the seventh and last monarch of the Kazar dynasty, which had ruled Persia from 1779. 1 Jr— i Visa Cost to Aliens. Non-immigrant aliens coming from countries with which the United States has not concluded reciprocal arrange- “‘n‘urn- ol Status of Marrried Women. No nation is under greater on than the United States to assist in de- ing an appropriate travel docu- ment for persons of no nationality, for no nation has contributed more to the ;:m!:}m rz!e such persons. Under the aw most nations a woman the nationality of her hmhnd‘mk_’l'hll }-ux:. essentially one of internaf she prior cit , irre- usually loses her tizenship, spective of her own wishes or actual the consul represen T uch a as to the reality refuse the nlu::n. g Eiske It ¢ B af ments pay, with certain exceptions, $10 ?h for an American visa ($1 for the appli- cation, $9 for the visa). entitling a non-! 1t pass in diredt transit through the United States A certificate |of draf to can be obtained without charge from |on an American consular officer. Citizens of Canada, Newfoundland, Bermuda, St. Pierre, Panama, ), Cuba, Haiti, the Domini Republic and a few Semporatlly’ without, passport oF vise. m) ly pass) or visa. American were issued gratis until 1856. The charge thereafter was most of the time fixed at $1. tional application charge of $1 was added in 1917. The passport fee was raised to $10 in 1920. The document is valid for two years. Since 1926 a bona fide teacher may obtain an extension of a passport for & Padsport agenty i (he Dnied Slates a agency in or to an American consul abroad his passport with a statement setting forth the institution employing him and the subjects taught. al Record seems The Con show that little or no serious consid- eration was given in 1920 to the pro- posal for the drastic increase of fees which was ultimately adopted. Some members suggested that most travelers were going to Cuba for a pense. Another legislative assumption was that the lomatic and anulll' service was for the benefit of traveling 'Ame’\;iclm and that they should pay or The absurdity of the latter conten- | BOIN tion is apparent when one considers that the average traveler has no con- tact at all with his “diplomatic and Tats are Crgaged IIgely in v mats are en; arge! represent- ing the United States in a political ca- pacity. The consular service is con- cerned chiefly with trade. If the cost The Minseito, or government party. | direct won a sweeping victory in the Japanese general elections of February 20. The minor parties were hard hit. Japan seems to be moving fast toward a gen- uine two-party system, whereas the op- seems to be true in Europe. Negotiations looking to a new Anglo- Egyptian treaty will commence March 24, ’v'lhnn an Egyptian delegation ""‘L‘f by Nahas Pasha, the Egyptian premier, will meet Arthur Henderson, the British foreign minister, in London. b Arrived at Montevideo en route home from his Antarctic ition, Sir Hubert, Wilkins reports as follows: Six flights made by one or planes, partly over land, sea. 1In all 2,500 miles flown; discovery of 200 miles of coast and two islands previously unknown; and correction of certain reports made by previous orers, Dr, J. B. Collip, chairman of the de- Pl LR & Jeo ni . 4 = vs'er!rl of insulin, is ‘reported to have isolated, purified the benei !rom“'.h& C e ficial effect the application of which, according to 1 announcement, “may scarce- ly be overestimated.” Precisely what are the effects expected, has not been disclosed, that apparen! partly over itly certain disorders of women should be especially pria benefited. ! other of his two hydro- | | chief burden should be on the importer and exporter. U. 8. Revenue From Passports. Passport charges are a matter of per- sonal indifference to most influential g:vu'nment ofichh ‘whose m“fl'l is ne on special passports iplo- matic visas for which no charge is ex- acted. The following table shows the revenue derived by the United States from visas and passports: Passport fees collected by the Depart- ment of State: 1616610 263, Lo 3087,790 Visa fees collected by the Department of State: 1926 fiscal yea: }g"l fiscal yea 1920 fiscal year (estimated; service +..$8,825,603 $9,480,87¢ e ol SRake Broper. 1406308 1587183 An examination of the above table shows that the fees alone give a return ly one-third more g‘r‘ ';.h:hsama nep-ru:lm appro- tion for the passport division is about $63,000. The special appropria- es. Our diplo- | Th lish girl traveling with her No-Nationality AMidavit. ‘The State Department offers the fol lowing suggestions as to the form of the no-nationality afidavit: Affidavit of Identity and Nationality. (a) Name (in full) and address, cat:. street and number, city and s 3 chelUnAnud snm.ph s f) paragraph _e: jport cannot be obtained from nited States Government. (8) A paragraph explai grounds the consul rej try drink “and | Pass to|could easily afford $10 additional ex- “The information pertinent to the case should be selected from the fore- and the - davit. D’A‘mxed to the should be a photograph of the or persons included in gm lm that which appears on a passport. “When the affidavit of identity and nationality has been properly required on a certificate of nationality, everr if the country which one is going, Switzerland, for example, requires no visas from citigens of any of the countries with which the traveler is connected. A British citi- zen can enter Switzerland without & visa and likewise an American, m be denied admission sort of temporary permit at the border. The United States is fairly reasonably the nln‘-’tw of ‘accepting affidavits of