Richmond times-dispatch. [volume], November 17, 1919, Page SIX, Image 6

About Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current

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connecting with all depart
nieata.
UUA.M1I UKflCES: Wash
ington. 1410 >t?r York Ato
uutj .N rvi VorU City. Fifth
A?rnof (iuddiugi C'hliiura.
JPevult-* Oas ilulliltugi
rhtiuUelptihk. Colonial Tr&*t
UuJioiuc.
SUlil Bll'TIO.N BATKj TN
ADVAM'K by mall; UaJly
ind MinJ*/, one ynlt.
G month*. S4.35: 3 uionth*.
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-untlay unty. on? year.
k iihinllui. 3 months,
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Yll'fci: OoKy. with Saniuv.
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out MDilay, IS cents a
' " ? s>unoay only. I r-enta.
II ovt fnrnrfs ?ftc *a?or as .Ttlh m?nn-.crlpls and
U!u-tratl<>n? for pul>ilcau?u wlith to hot* anavauahlo
? r(|. in ri-lurrrd Uic> uia>t IB *11 c*?<h> woil ?t?mp?
l?r that purpose.
il i:.Mi;t.tt OF THE ASSOC IATE1) rKIU<*?.? The
A?vjcUi?i i're?* is ? iclaalvely entitled to the uae W
rrpuith miou if nil nr?? uupatchea credited to It or
rot t-:iT<-rwi?e rrrdueil in tuia pnf>er, and alao tha
i?<\a! Bf?? puMUhr_->' herein. All ngbu of r^paOllca
llon of ?i>e<-ial ilKralebe* herein nrc tlw mtirfMl.
nome of The
Timr'?-Di?ivitcli.
Absolutely Kircproof.
The count now stands nine to one?nine
learned judges agreeing that the war-time ,
prohibition act is uuconstitutional, and (ine, '
eciuany leuincu, is equally positive that it is ?
constitutional. Assuming that all of them ?
are honest in their judicial opinions, the un- ?
learned multitude may be excused if it fails
to agree on the same weighty subject.
An uncanny memory for names and faces
of persons whom he meets in even the most
casual manner is said to be possessed by the
Prince of Wales. What a gift that would
bo were lie an American and had a turn for
politics! But it is Die irony uf fate that his
succession is assured and he docsu't need
that which nature has so richly, even if mis- t
takenly, billowed upon him.
Sigus are on the political horizon that
Pennsylvania has selected Mitchell Palmer
as its favorite Democratic son and is pre
paring to stage for him a real presidential
boom. And Pennsylvania?and the country,
too, for that mailer?might do far worse.
The Attorney-General undoubtedly has coine
out of the coal strike as one of the nation's
biggest ligures and other candidates whose
?yes are turned longingly toward their party's
nomination may ilnd him a most formidable
opponent.
Postmaster-General Burleson casually re
marks to Rlr. Mackay that he would appre
ciate receipt of a check for two million and
some odd hundreds of thousands of dollars,
same being the difference between what the
Postal Company earned during the govern
ment regime ami what .Mr. Burleson decided
it should be permitted to retain. Where
upon AIr. Mackay tartly rejoins that bavin's
is keepin's, and that he will see the Post
master-General further first, or words to that
effect. It promises to be a right merry ex
change of repartee, in which, based on past
performances, the postmaster is not likely to ,
have the sympathy of the public even if it j
does stand to win a couple of liie Mackay i
millions.
What Oiiio did -Tor the professional re- <
formers in convincing them that perhaps,
after all, public sentiment is not so over
whelmingly in favor of country-wide prohi
bition without the consent of the people
themselves a.-: tiny had declared it to be, tho
British al.-o art- doing, but in a different man- ?
ner. The paid American agitator Johnson. '
unaffenionately dubbed "pussyfoot" because
of the- American method:; which he took
with hint across the Atlantic, has been
mobbed in London, where he sought to im
press 111>i>n the liberty-loving Britons the joys
of an unslaked thirst. Bui a mere mobbing
will not serve, to separate rlu: agitators from
their source of income, and if the Britons aro 1
not (areful they may find themselves "pussy- '
footed into aridity even as it happened to i
Americans. I
c
%
I
i
?
r4o
P
? ?
The American Federation of Labor,*
through i; head officials, offered the 1'nited
Mine Workers its support in challenging the
right of the government to euforce obedience
to the law oi the land. The officials of the
mine workers had the good sense to disre- j
gard the offer and comply with the mandate
of the court. Lven with the support of the
American Federation of Labor, the mine
workers' officials did not see where they had
anything to gain in carrying on a conspiracy
in violation of the Kiw with the public
standing . quaicly behind the government in
its declared hiv; > c to jj?,.:e.ss the con
spiracy. The federation officials were badly
advised when they ju tified and indorsed the
conspiracy, and, a* a j.s.'.t, they will find
thai they have su taiin 1 a distinct loss of
prestige, both with th<- conservatives of
their own organization and with ihe general
public.
The Iiacific Coast States have at lart bo
come thoroughly v.< is<vl to the monaco of
I. \V. W.'ism. which luo long maintained its
stronghold in that section, and nr?j mobiliz
ing every lawful resource at their command
to drive Reds of every description out of
their border?.. Public indignation over the
nssasflination of four mem hero of the Ameri
can l^eglon in the Centralla Armistice Day
parade lias readied high tension and whole
sale arrests of K?*tis aro taking place. This
Js as it should be. The country hav got
to be cleaned up. Kvery Red who la an
American citizen should be thrust in jail and
the machinery of the courts oiled to do quick
work in imposing long prison sentences on
?very one convicted of belonging to nny of
their treasonable organizations, and short
shrift should be made in deporting every
ftllen Red. If tho Bureau of immigration
does not Improvo in Its functioning in re
frpcct to getting rid of those undesirables,
ii should be reorganized and its duties put
in the hunds of a more vigorous sot of of
ficials; or better, Congress should take ac
tion depriving the Labor Department of its
Jurisdiction over deportation problems and
tho same turned over to the Department of
Justice, where it more properly belongs.
There are now pending before the immigra
tion authorities numerous cases of persons
! nrrested early in 1917 and held for depor
tation. The prolonged delay in disposing
of these cases is inexcusable.
Is lie of Presidential Size?
TT is a fixed custom of tho Amorlcan people
1 to look to State elections for tho develop
ment of presidential possibilities. Many
years ago the voters of the land turned their
eyes away from congressional leaders in their
search for that peculiar timber of which
Presidents are made. In the earlier days of
the republic. Congress was the supposed cen
ter of the national brain power, but that is
not the case today.
The question is being asked once more
whether or not the next candidates of
the major parties may not now be Governors
and whether or not the recent elections have
given the country something fresh to think
about as the time approaches for the nomi
nating conventions next June. And such
thinking as may be engaged in will neces
sarily revolve about Governor Coolidge, of
Massachusetts, the courageous young man
who took, as many of his friends believed,
his political life in his own hands when ho
defied all the forces of lawlessness and dis
order which were parading through his State
as organized labor.
It so happens that an admiring constitu
ency has just re-elected this man by au al
most unprecedented majority. In that, elec
tion there figured thousands of Democratic
votes as well as thousands of Republican
votes. The appeal which his candidacy made
was wider than party lines and deeper than
partisan interest. The net result is that many '
hopeful Republicans have begun weighing
Mr. Coolidgu as a presidential prospect and
the country as a whole is seeking to size
him up for future servtaes.
But the fact that Governor Coolidge has
plenty of courage and has plenty of support
in his own State is not all that he will need
to compete successfully for the next nomi
nation of his party. He must have more than i
that. He must hare balance and brains and j
breadth and depth, as well as fearlessness
and popularity. Some of these qualities,
moreover, are yet to be demonstrated. The
real size of Governor Coolidge will be de
termined during the next few months. He
will need no further conflicts with lawless
ness. no further battles with violent radical
ism anfl no further struggles with domestic
disorder to exhibit his measure. This meas
ure may be taken by the fashion in which
he treats his incipient presidential boom. If I
he ceases being a good Governor in order to !
promote his prospects for the Republican j
nomination; If he becomes more caudidate j
than State executive, as did the lamented j
Whitman in New York, ho will be a failure i
and he will go into the discard. But if he I
keeps on sawing wood as head of his State i
government; if he forgets that he was ever
"mentioned" for the presidency, and if he
allows no amount of tribute or flattery to
spoil him during the coming monthR, he may
reasonably hope to be seriously considered
by his party for higher honors.
Knighting a Comedian
IT is a tradition of the British empire that
the order of knighthood is conferred only
upon such subjects of the crown or for
eigners sis may have rendered peculiarly dis
tinguished service to the nation. The title
thereupon becomes hereditary and a family !
heritage created, to be treasured as long as j
thoro are generations to wear it. British :
crowns have thus honored soldiers, sailors, !
lawyers, authors, industrialists, bankers and i
even great actors. But it has remained for :
Harry Lauder to be the first comedian to '
receive tlie order of IcAighthood at the hands
of a British sovereigu.
At lirst blush the other knights of the 1
realm may revolt at the new comradeship
which has been officially ordained. They j
may wonder how a mere laughter artist can
claim the honor of the Bath or the Garter. !
They may Imagine that British knighthood
has become but a plaything of King* and
that when music-hall idols are admitted to
the charmed circle the ancient order has lit
tle or no value.
The truth is, as the older knights will
ultimately know, if they do not now, that
Harry Lauder, funny man that he is, has
done his party in war scarcely less than his
own boy who went to the front and never
returned. He dedicated his talents, his arl
and his all to the British fighting forces. He
did not wear the uniform of the service?
he is too old for that?but he wont into
the trench and the camp and the training
area to bring hope and good cheer to many
hundreds of thousands of Tommies. He
dared the screaming shells, tho sniper and
the machine gunner. He lived week by week
at thf front, telling his inimitable stories, ,
singing his inimitable songs and brightening
the dull existence of men who lived month
in and month out with death staring them
in the face.
There is something peculiarly human
about the decision of the British government
to ronfer knighthood upon the Scotch
comedian. Many of us had boon led to as
sume that this order was reserved for the,
high-brow, or the military hero, or the mil
lionaire. who had carried British trade into
another rnarkei, or the writer of a great
book. It did not occur to us that the cold
blooded Britishers would or could bring
themselves to do so human a thing as to
reword a comedy artist as they have re
warded Harry Lauder for his distinguished
services to the empire.
Bolshevists and 1. W. W.'s in this country
seem to be in doubt whether, if they had
the power, (hey would begin tho firing-squad
operations lirst on Gompers and the Federa
tion of Labor, or on the government and the
capitalists.
Anyhow, Senator I'oindoxter, the firat defi
nitely announced candidate for PreHldont,
although a Republican, la a Virginian hv
Immediate descent, and a Washington and
Leo man.
Those citizens who are said to have plotted
to kidnap Edsel Ford might do better In
their line of buslneis if they moved over to
Mexico.
But how can Mr. Ooinpers help to "an
honorable settlement of their trouble" minora
' who begin by disregarding a contract?
' | S?EN ON THE SIDE
BY IIKKIIY KIJWARD WARNKR
Fa*.
Did you ever have the feeling that you were
traveling: In cur\e?
With u thousand Utile devils playing- tag along
your nerves?
j Did you ever view i*~? desk with consternation
and dismay.
In tho knowledge that you had tlyj wholo
blamed thing to clean today?
It's <a mighty sickly feeling, and I've got that
feeling now?
There arc chilblains in my shoes and there aro
wrinkles in niy brow;
In the olden days tfls recourse was a gentle
manly jag?
Rut since Barleycorn went blooming there's no
remedy for fag.
It's the fng. fag. fag.
When your head feels like a bag
Kull of mush or stuffed with sawdust,
And your back's limp as a rag!
I And there's nothing that will do it
Any good: there's nothing to it
Hut just mope around and rue it
When you're hammered by the fag.
ChnrcitaJ Eph'* Daily Thought.
"In de miwnln'," swid Charcoal Eph. rumlna
tively, "fo' exercise yo' open a window lookin'
south an' take seventeen deep breaths, an' ef
dat don' do no good go down an' shake de fur
nace. Try a chop, Miatah J."
All Gone.
"That fellow used to be the funniest man in
America. Why, you'd roar just to see him on
the platform, you'd split with mirth to read
his jokes, and when he mado funny faces?
Oh boy!! He was a scream!"
"Well, what's the matter now?"
'He got married: then came the high cost of
living, and now his mother-in-law's with him."
Apologies.
Again, in this age of things, we feel prone
to confess that we were among those editorial
paragraphers who a few years ago thought the
Wright Brothers were wrong.
With half a dozen girls sending telepathic
appeals to call 'em up and go out somewhere, a
student has a fierce time trying .to cram up on
trig in the P. M.
A \nrrow Eaeape.
"Yeah, I was at the station when the Prince
of Wales went through, and d'yuh know he
came pretty near pinning a medal on me!"
"He did?"
"Yeah. He pinned it on another guy't was
only 200 feet from me; that's how close- I came
t' gettin' it!"
Ilfirllrierei.
To save my life I cannot see
Ilow Adam named the beasts.
Altho It may seem simple to
Professormen and priests;
But 1, a layman, cannot see
.lust how he picked them out!
I should have got them all hailed up
And mixed, beyond a doubt!
And I shall never understand
How Adam named them right:
So many animals must have been "
A most confusing sight!
I know, had I been Adam, I'd
Have made an awful fuss.
By christening the elephant
A hippopotamus!!
' A Daily Once Over
Don't Be Two Affable.
Don't he so good-natured that it is easy to
impose upon you.
You want everything to run smoothly with
out disturbing situations, which may be the
rc.ison why you have not reached a higher plane
with your firm.
There have been certain times when you
.%houhl have been positive in your stand or posi
tion with tlmse under you. but you knew you
could not keep tilings smooth and get your Ideas
carried out, so you passed up your opportunity.
Because you would not insist upon your
methods in your department, you were blamed
for things which should have been laid at an
other's door, and all because you were not posi
tive in having your plans carried out.
If your friendship for some person who is
working for you. or under you, is pueh that It
sways you and keeps you from requiring what
you should of that, person, it works an injustice
both ways.
You are losing your chince of advancement,
automatically losing it also to 'those under you,
perhaps, by blocking tiie line of progression.
And the one under you Is not being drilled
strictly enough to he worth much, to be truly
valuable, when it conies ills turn to step up
higher. ? Copyright, 1910.
From Other Viewpoints
View of Railroad Problem.
nv nonmiT scott i.ovktt
Tho p!a:t devii-ed V.y the committee of rail
road executives and submitted through its chair
man to the Senate Committee on Interstate and
Foreign Commerce serins to offer the best solu
tion of the raUiORd problem.
its principle features are; The rule of rate
making to be provided by Congress itself, which
.-boUtd require that the rates be sufficient to
enable the carriers U? provide the requisite ser
vice* and facilities, protect existing investments,
and provide the new capital necessary In the
public Interest.
The compulsory Federal incorporation of all
railroad earrlrrs.
The ?xclusive Feder.il regulation of railroad
securities.
The exclusive Federal regulation of railroad
rat er>.
The creation of a Department of Transporta
tion with power to act quickly and deal with
emergencies, and the distribution of tho regu
latory powers between such department and
tht- Inter.'taie r^mnifrc Commission.
The modification of restrictions upon rail
road consolidations and provision for the merg
ing o!' lines when In the public Interest and
with the approval of the commission.
Without government operation, the only reli
ance for railroad revenue to Hiipport railroad
credit must be upoll the adoption by Congress
of a sound rail road policy involving absolute
justice to railroad capital, nnri requiring speci
fic i My and plMnly that the rates to be fixed
phill he sufficient to enable the carriers to
provide safe and adequate service, to protect
existing values, and to attrnrf. the new capital
necessary in the public interest.
To that ?nd Congress should, among other
'lungs, specifically provide that the level of
rales must properly reflect (he cost of wages,
materials end all other expenses incident to
i/iaii'tenancc and operation, and a reasonable
r-torn upon the new capital invested.
It io for Congress to say whether the railroads
?<f the irjtlon shall he publicly or privately |
owned, and whether they shall ho prosperous |
and efficient or poor and Inefficient.
The time has arrived for Congress to declare
by law ?> nation. 1 railroad .policy, and not leave
it to the Interstate Commerce commissioners
or r.tiiei subordinate officers or agencies to say
whetiici the policy of the national government
iri io impoverish the railroads In please cer
t'in shippers, or to Improve and extend rail
road facilities for the country by making ootn
pctmalory ratijp. or to pursue one policy at one
season and the other policy at another.
? ??ir railroad truiispei istlon fystern, which 'a
essentially i.alional. t.houhl be rescued from
the iri ( sponsible and conflicting Statu ngerch s,
and brought under Uniform control and regula
tion i-i the fiaiiopal interest, except us to
strictly local mailers.
Sine the creation of the Interstate Commerce
Commission the only concern of the govern
ment. as reflected by' legislation ond commis
sion action, has been to keep down the revenues,
prevent discrimination, and generally chastise
rallroe I management.
No kciikc of responsibility for providing the
requisite railroad facilities has been manifested
on behalf or the government. That task has
been left lo private enterprise, hand leaped
by the government polloy of suspicion and re
pression.
It Is now abundantly evident lluf thin policy
will not provide the transportation which Is
essential for the country: (hat the government
must either take over the railroads and pro
vide the facilitlos out of the public treasury, or
leave lh'm In private ownership under govern
ment supervision of a kind and character that
will assure fair dealing and attract tho n?coa?
oary capital.?(Copyright, 1010.)
Health Talks by Dr. Wm. Brady
The Snbmitutt for Action.
'Cop*r1*ht 1918 -.v Nuw?|,*i?er Nm-'
I Degeneracy is inseparable from that bont of
civilization which leads us into urtlfl.clalttlca.
' Our physical Ill:* as well aw our moral weak
I nessr-s, laorctife a.<* Ave adopt ono artifice after
another. Steam heat, boiled shirts, corsets and
toothpick shoes havo done the race Irreparable
harm, but these are only trilling: instance*.
At Just what age the process of growth. in
the sense of development, attains maturity is
Impossible to state definitely, because it varies
hi different individuals. In men maturity Is
readied between twenty-four and thirty-six
years or age; In women between twenty-two
and twenty-eight.
The trend ov civilization seems to be toward
effeminacy. That must be obvious to any
thoughtful observer, In dress and adornment
particularly. Among most creatures of lower
orders the male wears the glad rags and prac
tices polygamy. When the human male affects
too much adornment people question IiIm motive,
and the suspicion 's warranted, for character
?/ften betrays ItseK m the Individual's attire.
Soldiers do not so into battle wearing' tooth
pick shoes. Hospital nurses do not go on duty
in French hoels. Sensible peoplo today look
under a silk hat for a charlatan, an undertaker
pr a politician on parado. Great men and women
are eo simply attired and bo unaffected In man
nerisms that you wonder when you first meet
tnem whether some one isn't imperaonatliig the
boss.
Action Is as essential In youth, as are peace,
quiet and r? pose In old age. ftalse the dickens
ar'.und grandma and you drive her to distrac
tion. On the other hand pcace, quiet and re
pose do not agree at all with the health or
well being of Jack or Gladys. In the country,
Mary Jones, sixteen, is just Mary; in the village
she is Miss Mary; In the city she is Mlsa Jones.
False dignity, otherwise precocious old age. Is
thrust upon us by culture, whatever that
may be.
The cigarette had tremendous vogue in the
trenehes because there youth, finely trained for
action, was perforce repressed, and the nar
cotic effect of tobacco helped to make repres
sion endurable. In civil life the artificialities
of convention repress or restrain the natural in
clination of youth to action. Tobacco, then, is
tho substitute for action.
Baseball is a great game, a fine open-air ex
ercise for sedentary people. It is even an ex
cellent sport for those who work with their
musclef. Hut the ofllce man. the business man
the professional man cannot uubstitute a sport
for a g-ame, he cannot substitute the vicarious
excitement he feels as spectator of the sport
for the action his muscles crave as a player In
the game. Xnr does It help his nerves to scream
and yell in the grand stand.
Tobacco temporarily quiets the craving to
play, dull? the impulse to action, but nervous
ness. an tffeminste weakness, is the inevitable
result.
Voice of the People
I/eHern must give tkr Dine and illrru ?(
(he vrrlter. Name will nut be pabltahe* If
writer ?? requests.
Unman .Sympathy.
To the Editor of The Times-Dispatch:
Sir.?
"Toach me to feel for another's woe
And to hide the faults I see
That mercy I to others show
That pity show to me."
If tho nbove couplet from the pen of a re
nowned Anglo-Saxon poet does not breathe and
express the purest arid noblest type and quality
of true Christian charity and human sympathy,
then I a:n a stranger to the character anil
sc>ipc of these highest attributes of humanity
and civilization. No boundaries or dogmas or
doctrines of any particular religious faith con
fine the sentiments enunciated In the foregoing
couplet for it embraces men and women of
every nationality, language, creed, belief and
persuasion, religious or political. Its compre
hensive spirit applies alike to Christian. Jew
ami Mahometan or followers of any other creed.
If these sentiments actuated the majority of
mankind to the exclusion of the present pre
dominating passions of selfishness, egotism,
avarice, pride, vain giory and hyproerlsy. we
would not need a league of nations to enforce
>ea.ce. As human nature stanilH now. however,
t will require much preaching of the princi
ples of the poetic text of this article to over
come and uproot the selfishness, egotism, avar
ice. etc., now controlling the world, but the i
philanthropic and most ennobling efforts of j
Wilson. Taft. liloyd George. Olemenccuu. et al? j
to Inaugurate and establish such an Inter
national league go far to prove that men are
beginning to show that feeling and human sym
pathy and mutual regard for each other's rights
that will effect tho amelioration hoped for In
our mutual relations, both domestic and for
eign, and enable tho league of nations to per
form Its functions and accomplish Its mag
nificent and supremely beneficent objects.
Sympathy, charity, love, and regard for the
rights of others, and their feeling?-, and wonts
are attributes that too many of ns lack, and ]
the fostering, cultivation and acquisition of I
the?o traits ought to be the chief purpose of I
every writer and speaker who essays to mould !
public sentiment through the press, or to sway I
the populace by the more restricted Instrumen
tality of oratory.
W. D. PATTESOX.
Howardsville. Va? October 2&, lOlti.
Keyboard Touches
When .Judgment Wabbles Tronble Drgluji.
in KItAN'K II. BROOKS,
Good judgment is the spirit-level of the man
who has It. I.ike many characteristics It is in
born. But It comes into its own after years of
experience. It if. not ripe until one inn met
nearly all classes. One of the causes of eco
nomic and political trouble ia a lack of judg
ment. One cannot always communicate with
everybody on the same line. While common
courtesy is always more or less convincing,
there are times when it fails to get across.
Likewise, ordinary logic, fails to settle every
controversy.
The man who has convincing genius la not
always successful In his argument. lie will
waste hl? time in talking to an inferior, no
inratter how adroitly he presents his case. Then
there are those who are contrary to every prop
osition. Good judgment singleF out such peo
ple and a lot of valuable time Is saved. Such
people as never agree bplong in the self-con
scious class. Their hypothesis is that there can
he no compromise because they alone are right.
Trying to convince such a man Is what Oliver
Wendell Holmes called th?; hydrostatic paradox
of controversy, which lie explained in these
words: "You know that if you had a bent tube
one arm of which wan the size of a nipe-stern
and the other big enough to hold tiie ocean,
water would stand at the name height In one
an i;i the other. Controversy equalises fools and
wise men in the same way?and the Coold
know it."
You don't have to read more than one news
paper these days to realize the truth of the
autocrat's statement. Without taking one or
the other In present conditions, it can be said
Without contradiction that a lack of Judgment
id at the bottom of most of tho dissensions now
agitating public affairs.
News of Fifty Years Ago
(From the Richmond Dispatch, Nov. 16. 1SC9.)
, In the Methodist Con
forence Saturday Rev. A.
O- . Brown announce.] fhe
87:?' ;< -WKt&k rncolpt of n letter from
Wm in*, venerable Bishop
ly "?? < harly, stating that he
jtLii would not be able to rca
: wT '" 11*0 hiR hope of bolng
'mfc' . Prosnnt at this conforenco.
?aaaa. v Mr. Hrown offered tender
lmm\ f> resolution* of sympathy
J" t*?? bishop 8 continued
MuiL [lines* and prayers for his
i -W-mL:-. recovery. The resolutions
11KV. A. VI. ISiUmva. were adopted hy a rising
Methodl*t i?Tlne. vole and Itev, Dr. McFer
lMf, rln led tho conference In
fervent priyer for tho absent fnther.
Gencra! Canbv on Saturday removed from of
fice Robert J. Perkins, Commonwealth's Attor
ney of Ooochland, I* luvanna and l-nuisa Coun
llcfl. No cause except tho usual one?not
enough "loyalty" four or five years ago.
The committee appointed by the Chamber of
Corn merer) to arrang for the meeting in thi3
city of the National Hoard of Trade, held a
meeting Saturday night, and took Initiatory
strprt looking to the ontertalnmant of the first
assembly of a national character to bo held in
this olty since tho war.
A vanguard of a colony of Tyfoleae to make"
ti settlement on .lames Itlvor, u few miles be
low Richmond, reached here on Saturday.
A son of "OHsawottornlo," John Brown. visited
Charleatown. W. Va., Inst week to view the spot
whence his "distinguished" fathor's spirit be
gan "marching on."
There was a heavy snowstorm all day Satur
day, extending northward from Washington,
and telegraph lines are working slowly in con
sequence.
All public ofllces were closed in Washington
on Saturday In respect to ex-Secretary Walker,
whoso funeral took place In the mornlnx:.
KdWftrd A. Pollard Is busy propsrlng' for the
ores*, a new book to bo entitled "The Virginia
Tourfst."
Nearly all of the Protestant pulpits of Rich
mond wer? filled yesterday by ministers In at
tendance upon tho Metbodlst conference.
GREAT BRITAIN BUTTLES
WITH FOOD PROFITEERS
Tribunals Report 7,350 Offenders nml
1,820 Convictions Arc
Obtained.
C O Li L K C T $35,000 FINES
Parliamentary Secretary declares'
That Ono of Causes of High Prices j
Is Public 11ns Ivost A1! Sense of |
Wliat Is Reasonable.
[Hy Ausoclatud I>r?s*.J
LONDON', Nov. 16.?Great, Britain's
stupendous efforts to grapple with
profiteering is jUBt disclosed by .tho
work of 1,600 tribunals which have
prosecuted 7.350 offenders and .secured
1,320 convictions, with fines aggregat
ing *3R,000.
Besides setting up these local tri
bunal:! to which complaints against
dealers are submitted. appeal trl
hunuls have been established in specl
lied areas of Rutland, Scotland and
Wales. In addition central commit
tees also have been formed to inves
tigate supposed trusts or monopolies
which may be manipulates whole
sale prices. This has been dono under
the profiteering act.
Apart from the prosecution of com
plaints, the Hoard of Trade, which is !
charged with the administration of '
the atiilprofltecrlng law Is independ
ently investigating prices, costs and
profits of a large number of articles |
In common use. It h?B formed a cost- !
ings committee, composed of dhtln- !
guishen accountants, which is assist
ing the central committee in its task. |
A sub-committee on trusts has been cm
powered to obtain whatever techni
cal and expert assistance may be re
quired.
What Article^ Are loclnded.
In scope, the act applies to "any
article or class of articles, which is
one of a kind In common use by the
public" or to any "material machinery
or accessories used In the production
of ?uch articles." The act does not
apply to "^controlled" articles, such
a? butter, sugar, boor, ll -ur. liquors?
commodities tor which maximum prices
were fixed by war-time leg.slation.
.. A clear-cut definition of the term
'profiteering" has been a point which
has given local tribunals much difll- I
cully in the prosecution of their task. I
! ? ,a,r e definition laid down by H!r I
Auckland Oeddes, president of the !
Hoard of Trade, has been accepted an j
. r f)rosecutlon. It follows:
The making of an unreasonably large
profit, all the circumstances beinc
known, by the sale to one's fellow
citizen of an article which is one. or
on? a kind, in common use."
On the moot question of what con
stitutes an unreasonable profit." C.
A. McCurdy, parliamentary secretary
to the Ministry of Food, recently de
clared: 'One of the causes of profiteer
ing la the fact that the public aoems
o have lost all senso of what Is a
reasonable profit. A good principle for
tribunals to work upon is not to ask
themselves whether the profit is higher
than 6ome ono else is charging, but la
the pro'tl arrived at on any reasonable
business principles or is it rnorely dic
.aterl by avarice and greed?"
Mr. McCurdy has characterised the
profiteering act as "an abnormal rem
ay for an abnormal state of public
i.i??30 "ol intended to harass
British trade, but to help restore
t to normal and healthy conditions."
Critic* Invite Kigarea.
; Critics of the government'* antl
protlteering machinery point to official
! publlshe.f In the Board of
Trades Iyabor Oaxette Hhowlng that,
despite efforts to beat down living
?oiUs, the general level of retail prices
on October 1 was about 120 per cent
above pre-war figures, or an Increase
or o per cant, as compared with the
level of September 1 last, when the
local tribunal^ were Just getting under
way. But it is not contended, even
ny the faultfinders, that the increase
would not have been larger had " the
| rovernment made no tflort to brine
tno profiteers to book.
Against such objections may be set
| such testimonials as that of the Yar
| -nouth profiteering committee, which
c.alms that a reduction in wholesale
prices by ac much a? 35 per cent haa
teen noticeable in that lo.:alitv.
Membership of the local tribunals Is
fixed ut from rovon to Uventy-five.
[ two of whom must bo women. All
complaints are heard in public, except
! in special cases, when, under author
| ity of the Hoard of Trade proceedings
may bo private. Books or documents
produced at private hearings aro to
be treated as confidential if the per
n>ri producing theln so desires. Libor
.s represented on the local tribunals
.fnd on the ccntral committee, among
the members of the committeo being
J. II. Thomas, executive head of tho
railway men during the recent strike,
and G. H. Btu/irt-Bunnlng, president
??f the British Trades Union Congress.
T? Investigate Claims.
I-?ocal tribunals have boctt empow
ered to investigate nil claim? brought,
oefore them, and. if the allegations or
AxceuHivo charges aro established, to
Institute proceedings against tho
seller before- a court of summary Jurls
ilcllon, where, upon conviction, fines
of not moro than $1,000, or imprison
ment for terms not to exceed three
months, or both, may be Imposed.
Questions hefore local tribunals are
decided by a majority of tho mem
bers present, and voting. Any seller
ggrleved by any finding of a local
tribunal, other than a decision to taka
proceedings before a court of summary
jurisdiction, may flppoal to the appeal
tribunal for the area in which the local
tribunal Is operating. The Institution
of court proceedings Is not the only
function of local tribunals?thoy may
lirmiss the complaint entirely, declaro
the price which would yield a reason
able profit on the article In question,
;r require the seller to repay to the
:omplaintant any amount paid by him
in excess of this stipulated price.
Boca! tribunals nil over England
nave lists of complaints for Investiga
tion. The articles range from flan
nelettes nt 38 cents a yard, to boot
laces at 23 cents a Dalr; front enam
eled saucepans at. SI.45 to spools of
cotton ut 14 conik; a Westminster com
mittee has been called on to investi
gate a charge of 1125 for a woman's
hat, another of >So for a coat and
skirt, and a charge of 8 cents for a
breakfast roll.
Prices Being Charged.
A complaint whs made before the
Walton-on-Thamec committee of a 1
??harge of <52 cents for a lamp shade,
which. It was alleged, could be pur
chased a few miles distant for 32 cents.
At Bangor a man complained that he
had hoen charged r,r, cents for tea for
.ilfnBelf and a friend. Tho committed
ordered a refund of 1(5 cents.
Kffort Instituted among relnlt deal
ers to check profiteering "higher up"?
among tho wholesalers?has been of
much aHKiBtance to the central com
mitteo in its Investigation of twelve
or more suspected price "combines,"
Including dealers In boots and shooB,
cotton sheeting, tinware, blankets,
ready-made clothing, soap, tobacco
and medicines.
Imposition of prison sentences has
not been uncommon, although It has
been a general practice to impose
maximum lines In glaring cases of
#uilt. with a threat of Imprisonment
should there ha a second Infraction.
It is declared to be certain that
Parliament, during Its present sitting,
will extend the time during which tho
orofltecrlng aot shall continue In force.
This Is cited as an Indication of the
public's belief that It has been at least
;)artly successful.
Daniel* iMcadn for Negroes.
BABHiaH, N. C., Nov. 16.?In launch
itig a campaign for tho Wake County
tuberculosis hospital hero today, Hoc
retary of the Navy <Tosnphus Daniels
made a spoclal plea for the colored
people. When?v?r thsre has been
strife in other parts of tho country,
and when tho loyalty of some other
classes of people has hung In tho hal
aiiteo, wo havo known that the negroes
could bo depended on, Satd Secretary
DaftUls. '
MARTENS OFFBS TO PIT
WES FOB MSSliS
Those Who Do Not Cat, to Remain
In America Cum l^torn
Home.
y
WILL AID UNDE8IRABM,:s
1 ? -
Self-Styled Anibassudor <* Soviet
Government Arrested Saturday on
S??* C'lurK? Heltased on
91,000 Bond.
[Dy Associated Pros 1
NEW YORK, Nov. 16 Ludwij? r A
K. Martens, self-styled "ambassador of
the Russian Soviet government to tv
L'nltoil States," haH offered to provld?>
transportation from the United StHtf.it
Vi 'tUf,sia, 'or all Russian citizens who
desire to leave America, or wIioho pr?H
ense In tho United States Ik undesir
able to the I< ederul governmont. ThU
oner was made In a letter written bv
Martens to Seoretnry of State Lana-lnk
arid made public here tonljfht.
*w..hls ,e,ter Martens protects against
the unwarranted and cruel treatment"
i? which many Russian citizens in the
u" tc? States aro subjected. "Peeler;;:
su?l". officers, as well as mobs
f.null e .w'tbom authority." He pro
uefr.fit. I1. the 8ov,et government be
uiu i > .lo.rc,urn l*>e citizens to Rus
declares that he lias received
?0 applications from such
thefr horned ar? ?nxiouo lo "turn to
l'n,l#,r 91.000 nond.
Saturdfv a.rr08tpd for contempt
after 'h i released on $1,000 ball
b eert.in l" appear and
I,uslf leVi.il,i (,ocl,ments before the
fcatinir rf.ih.ti committee. Investl
Ti. v . 1 activities In New York
that o*f comm?nfiU8tSon thn found
^.L i,i??,HJ,r?""'cations passing be
were privileged. "when b^St"1*,!)
M.mif dorT,Z
committee Monday amfto brine his
papers with him. "ring nns
.Calling attention to pr*F3 renorM
tluit it !(? proposed to deport certain
Russians to parts of Russiu under con
trol of the enemies of the Soviet jpov
ei n merit, Martens, in his letter to Sec
rotary Lansing protests that such de
portation would mean certain death
Per?on" deported and would
constitute a flagrant breach of ali
principles of International law"
, Il*"dx ?? K?re?.
It is quite unnecessary," jj*> savs
for the government of the United
States to take the trouble of deport
Ing citizens of the Russian Socialist
Federal fcovlet 'epubllc. They are only
too anxious to leave. 7. therefore re
Mt'afi^Ui' BUKResL ,hat the United
nal ? Government could easllv be ro
lled of the presence of unwelcomi
Russ an citizen*. if those citizens ?
Russia, whose lives aro Warning' un
bearable |n the United States were
^."V^i'V" leave. I desire to assure
jou that the government 1 have honor
to represent Is ready and willing to
provide means of transportation fron,
the United stat?? to Soviet Russia fr,
every Russian citizen in thic country!"
Are?r?lr* CltUeashfp.
"The government of the Russia-,
: .Sou In list Federal Soviet repnol'o lia :
i ei-eorded American citizens in Soviet
i Russia <*iv11 nnd considerate tr-'atmen!
I even in oases where active hostility
on th<- part of such American? toward
the government of Soviet Russia has
I been proven beyond all doubt." tho
letter continues. "Only in some exceii
I ttontil c.n>rp Where offenses of a Mr
j t.cularly Bra\'e nature* against the
l ilutfKiftii ffovoi nrnent have beon com*
muted by American citizens were th?<
prosecuted by offlcera of the law
American soldiers taken prisoners lii
the Archangel district, which was In
vaded by American troops wltho jt .i
declaration of war. have been treated
with especial consideration, and were
unconditionally released as soon as if
*'as practicable to send thom home,
so that there remains today no Ameri
can prisoners of war In Russia."
On the contrary, Russian citizens in
America, Martens nays, have been de
nied the protection of the law. "The
| lot of thousands of Russians in ihf
United States today," he explains, "is
exceedingly unhappy through no faul-.
of ttheir own, Through dally abuse
in the press and the prejudice created
by a virulent campaign of misrepre
sentation. their Russian cltlzennhip
has become a bar to employment and
advancement. They have been at rented
without warrant and subjected to op
pressive treatment against which they
had had no adequate protection as
citizens of a country whose i^overn
'n-.ent is not recornized by the United
States.
Suffer Violent Treatment.
"Within the past few days," he added,
"great iitnnbcrH of Russian citizens in
New York and elsewhere have been
j ai rested and have suffered the most,
brutal physical violence at the hAnds
| of public officials. In the city of New
| York alone over l.OOO persons were
irecotitly arrested, amonp them many
(citizens of Soviet Russia, and. although
thofte arrests wfcro made in a manner
| which caused much Buffering and
'physical injury lo these citizens, and
i although property belonfflnis. to them
v.a* wantonly destroyed in these raid*,
I it developed that few of them could be
held for further investigation and
I criminal prosecution.
"A number of affidavits bearlnc
j evidoncc to tho fact that the live.*
and liberties of Russian citizens have
been threatened without reasonable
i grounds will bo submitted to th?> State
[Department within a few days."
MooNTombTGOAf"star
Uetfl f:?prleom! to Pass In Ocenltatlon
Tlinnks?rivl?c ??y*
Astronomer.
CAMRRTDCT5, MASS.. Kov. 16.?Tiio
occultation of the Star Beta Capricorni
by tlie moon will be a Thanksgiving
night spectacle, visible to tho naked
eye. through the Kustern part of -the
country, says a bulletin issued by the
Harvard astronomical laboratory to
day. Shortly after sunset of Novem
ber 27, this star of the third magni
tude will be found If the evening Is
clear, close to the dark side of tho
moon, which at that time will be four
days old. .About 6 o'clock, or a few
minutes later, the star will suddenly
disappear behind tho moon, to reap
pear soinc time later on tho illumined
aide.
Attend National Convention.
IjYNCH BURCJ, VA.t Nov. 16.?A. I}.
ThofJihlll and George H. Uowles,
president and secretary, respectively,
of the Virginia Farmers' Educational
and Co-Oporative Union, have gone to
Memphis, Tenn., to attend the iifteen\i
annual convention of the national
union. Other delegates from Virginia
aro: OeOrgo W. DeShazo, Henrv Coun
ty; O. A, Thomas. Eedford Countv, and
13. F. Bower. Albemarle County.
file* He reaves Anfomoblle.
roTTRTOWN RA.. Nov. lC.? Ubert
Forester, aged fifty years, a prosperous
fanner, fell from the front seut of
his touring car today at a busy street
corner hero and died from aWolevi/
beforo ho could bo takon to a hosnftai
in an ambulance. He was accomt>anioi
in the maohine by his sona<-t-ornl?nfl'??
*.rr?m for n MOI* Home.
Ood send us a little homo.
To come back to, when we roam."
J.ow walls, and fluted tiler
\\lde windows, a view for miles.
van'1 chairs,
binall white beds upstairo**
rtfsat talk m little nook*
Dim colors, rows of bo?)n%
Ona picture on each waU.
Not many things at all.
Tall u;" .
itt.il trees standing roupr).
"owc',? in brown sod.
Ovorhead, Thy stars, O Ood.
Cod bless, when winds blow.
Our home, and all we know.
[ ?Florence Bone, in l*ondon Spaot'*tor?