Evening star. [volume], January 11, 1920, Image 1

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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??
i Member of the Aicociated Pre**
The Associated T'reas I* riclu?|rely entitled t?
the use for republication of all new* dt?patche*
it?*?l to If or not otherwise credited In this
pap?-r and also the local news published herein.
Ml rights of publication of special
dl*pat<h?'s herein are also reserved.
No. 772-No. 27,654.
WASHINGTON, D. C., SUNDAY MORNING, JANUARY 11, 1920.
FIVE CENTS.
? m FAVORABLE
TO TREATY ACTION
;
Reservations Which Will Be
Wore Than Interpretive
Seem Possible.
FEPliBLICAIMS FRAME
COUNTER PROPOSAL!
Conditionally Approve Suggestion !
Other Powers Need Not Accept
Senate Qualifications.
: |
1 Wffl Be Ratified Without
Nullifying, Says Palmer
l-Ilil. AltKl.rniA, Pa.. .Innu
ary 10.?The peace treaty will
, He rntiflttl with reasonable in
: tcrpretatlnn* or reiiervationfi, j
j said Attorney Cieneral A. j
>fitchell Palmer, who attended
a dinner of a (ireek letter so- j
t cicfty of Snarthmore College |
? here tonicht.
J ??('all thrm what you will,
they will not nullify the treaty |
* . and the document will he sat- .
isfaetory, I personally believe, j
I to 1*reMident W ilson/' h*> xaid.
# j
The Senate may yet ratify the peace
?^r?aty with Ormany with something:
more than merely "interpretative"
I Reservations, notwithstanding the
, President's Jackson day statement re
garding the treaty, it was said last
night. In fact, the situation for action I
by the Senate seemed distinctly more
favorable, according to reports. The
' democrats seeking compromise seemed
to have caught their breath after the
cold-water douche applied in the
Pre sident's statement.
There is a strong desire among sena
tors on both sides of the chamber to
get the treaty ratified and not to
force it into the coming campaign.
Democratic senators, who must come
up for re-election are not anxious to 1
make a campaign against some of the !
Senate reservations which are de
clared to have "Americanized" the |
treaty. The prediction of Col. Bryan i
that such an issue would mean defeat j
coincides with the views of some of j
these senators.
Republican Proposal.
Yesterday republican senators advo
cating ratification with reservations
drew up a counter proposal to the set
of compromise reservations submitted
to them early in the week by a group of
democrats headed by Senator Kendrick
and Senator McKellar.
The republic an proposal, to which its
Sponsors. said Senator Lodge of Mas
v sachusetts, the party leader, had given
tentative assent, was understood to deal
i only with some of the collateral issues
: in the reservation controversy, leaving
> to future negotiation the troublesome
i questions of Article X and equality of
footing pt>wer in the .league of nations.
Some of the democratic suggestions
! "^ere said to have been accepted, in
J eluding a change in the republican
I preservation program of last session.
I eo that the Senate qualifications
| "would not have to be accepted af
firmatively by the other powers. '
-?Agreement to these changes, however,
f as understood to be conditional on
| certain concessions by democrats in
I Regard to other reservations.
The counter proposal was drafted |
mild reservation republicans and
; submitted to Senator Lodge before i
feeing laid before the democrats. Sen- I
fitors of this group said afterward i
that Mr. Lodge showed willingness to
Jiave the negotiations proceed.
Hope to Narrow Con trove ray.
As a result both the mild group :
and the democrats declared progress
had been made, and were hopeful !
that at least the controversy might
foon be'stripped of most of its mi- ;
nor features and narrowed to t.vo
?>r three subjects. Many of them;
predicted also that when the time i
came the big stumbling blocks of !
arii<-f?. x and voting equality also j
could be removed and ratification se- i
Cured. j
Submission of the counter proposal
to the democrats came after the j
Senate adjourned at the end of a j
day whieh had kept the chamber
rtP'i cloakrooms alive with treaty
talk. Not once was he subject men
1 toned on lite floor, but it was the
)?>trn of many private conferences
amor.g senators on boih sides.
A .;.t; these conferences was a talk
t>et\\ Senator Lodge and Senator
I p.derwood of Alabama, a democrat
%\ ho has taken a prominent part in
urging .? speedy compromise. Senator
^Hitchcock of Nebraska, the acting
d- tr o? rat; hader, conferred with sev
eral of ; i . mild reservation repub
licans. Although the details of these
conversation.**' were nut revealed, there i
vas evidene- that both democrats and
. republicans intended to continue their
com? romise efforts despite President
"Wih di laration in favor of tak
ing the question into the campaign.
Ilea -tirances on this subject were
o^k? ?! of the democrats, however, the
republicans requesting that they be
Informed exactly how many demo
crats would agree to the republican
counter proposal.
They were told by Senators McKel
lar of Tennessee and Kendrick of
"Wyoming, who framed the compro
mise reservations, that there had been
jio change of sentiment since the
President's announcement and that
jnore than forty democrats wanted to
Compromise.
Will Canvass Drmorrntn.
It was to Senators McKellar and
Jv end rick that the new plan of the
Republicans was presented, and they
announced that they would take a
c-t.-os of democratic opinion early
this week. T'nev declined to make any
prediction as to their acceptability,
tint both said they were pleased with
fcb- progress of the negotiations.
Arjer their t.ilk with Senator Ix)dge
%Y three mild reservationlsts who
. ? ti ? d tie* counter proposal also
?PP* ared satisfied w ith the result.
??n<tors McNary of Oregon ami Colt
?>:' lth???!,? Island declared the situation
?ua.- improving constantly, and said
the we r" hopeftil of ratification.
? " 'or Lenroot of Wisconsin, the
?tier conferee. described the prospect
8 s "to* entirely hopeless." Senator
X-od_: ? I? r.d nothing to say.
The democrats are scheduled to
Jrie? t .:i party caucus on Thursday
to 'tie the question of minority
: < to succ< ? ?i the late Senator
? Senat r Hitchcock of Ne
??? : ? who l as been acting as dem
? r; \ :i ler during th? treaty fight,
p nator I'luhrwood of Alabama
O oiitestirig ;or the office. With
t'e leadership once settled, the re
p . i.s beli? ve they can deal more
#iiecti\ely with the democrats.
UK Ml V WATTERSON.
FRANKFORT, Ky., January II*.?
Co v. Kilivln P. Morrow today appoint
ed Henry W ntterxon. widely known
newKpnpir man and former editor of
the l^ouinville (ourier-Journnl, a!
colonel on hin ntaff.
MAKE LEAGUE REAL,
ACT QNftV-CECIt
Success of New Order, Says
British Leader, Depends
on Peoples' Attitude.
LONDON, January JO (by the Asso
ciated Press).?Whether the league
of nations is to be "the real thing or i
an imposture" depends upon the at- ;
titude of the peoples, and not least
the British people, in the opinion of
Lord Kobert Cecil, who, as chairman
of the executive committee of the
league of nations union, issued the
following statement:
"The peace treaty comes into force
today and with it the league of na
tions. We of the league of nations
welcome its advent, but we must not
think that we have yet achieved our
ends.
"The league exists, but what is it
to be; the real thing or an imposture?
Are we going to make It an efficient
instrument of peace, or is it to be
come a meaningless addition to the
cumbrous forms of old-fashioned
diplomacy.
"Jio Time to Be Lost."
"All dependu upon the attitude of
the peoples, and, not the least, of the
British people. Are they going to
show themselves worthy of this great
Opportunity or not If they are. there
is no time to be lost, for there is
much to be done. Schemes for the
limitation of armaments must be
worked out; terms of the mandates
must be settled and mandatories ap
pointed; an international court of
justice must be established.
"Beyond these and other duties di- '
rectly imposed upon the league by the I
covenant and treaty, there are many j
circumstances at the present time. I
which, in the words of article XI.
'threaten to disturb international
peacw or the good understanding be
tween nations upon which peace de
pends.'
"There is the Russian situation;
economic chaos in many European
countries, and controversies left unset
tled by the peace -conference, defects
in the peace treaty itself and particu
larly its financial provisions. All these I
matters are "within the sphere of ac
tion of the league.'
MuMt Formulate Policy.
"It will be the duty of the league of
nations union to formulate a policy
on the matters and to urge it upon the
government. But it would be prema
ture today to lay down that policy in
detail.
"Certain points, however, such as the
early admission of former enemy pow
ers to the league, democratization of
the assembly and insistence on pulicity
as the great international antiseptic,
have been enthusiastically indorsed by
almost every meeting held on the pe- i
cuniary contributions to aid us in de- i
stroying these powers."
KIdr (.rarer Kelleita'tea.
LONDON. January 10.?Replying to
a loyal message from the citizens of
I-ondon on the occasion of the rati- j
fication of peace, the king has tele- :
graphed the lord mayor of London j
as follows:
"With all my heart I reciprocate
theit hopes and fervently pray that,
please God, this day may be the lawn
i f a new era. in which tiie peopii> of
the British empire may forever live |
at peace with itself and with all men."
"TIGER" MAY COME HERE
TO FIGHT FOR LEAGUE
PARIS, January 10 (Havas).?
Georges Clemenceau is said to in
tend, if he is elected president of
the republic, to cross the Atlantic
to carry on in the lTnitei! States a
"vigorous campaign" in behalf of
the league of nations, according to
i the newspaper Kvenement.
Veteran Kentucky Editor
Once Again a "Colonel !
I
Status of Nations Changed
by Deposit of Rati
fications.
SITUATION IS OUTLINED
BY STATE DEPARTMENT
Great Task of the Versailles Con
ference in Considering National
Problems Revealed.
Formal notice has been served on
Germany l>.v he United States. In con
nection with the deposit at Paris yester
day of ratifications putting ^into ef
fect the treaty of Versailles, that con
ditions of the armistice still govern
relations between the United States
and Germany.
Announcement of this action was
made last night by the Stae Depart
ment in a statement showing that of
ficial notification of the exchange had
been received. Outlining the situa
tion due to the fact that the United
States had not ratified the treaty, it
said:
Ariulntlce in Full Force.
"It is the position of this government
that the armistice is continued in full
for< e and effect between the United
States and Germany, and accordingly
the provisions of the armistice agree
ment of November 11. 1918, as well as
the provisions of the extensions of
that agreement, remain binding on
these two nations.
"Notice of this was given to the
German government by the United
States."
The announcement showed that the
deposit of ratification and signing of
tho process verbal took place in Paris
at 4:16 p.m., and adc\s:
"The moment at which the first
proces verbal was completed marked
the moment at which a status of
peace was restored between Germany,
an the one hand, and those of the al
lied and associated powers which
have completed the necessary formal
ities of ratification of the treaty of
Versailles, 011 the other."
Peace Conference Tank Shown.
An idea of the mass and variety of
the work of the Paris peace con
ference was shown in a list received
here today showing that forty-two
separate treaties, agreements and
conventions had been prepared be
tween the varioua nations there rep
resented. They cover every item of
international interest from the spe
cific treaties of peace to questions
such as the control of the arms and
liquor tratfics, and aerial navigation.
Included in the list with the treaties
of peace and protocols to carry them
Into effect are all the agreements with
the new states born of the war, and
a series of special boundary treaties
on the most complex of the troubled
spots of Europe, such as Teschen, East
Gaiicia. Poland's eastern frontier, Fiume,
Albania. Danzig. Schleswig, Thrace and
the Banat of Temesvar. several of
which are still unfinished. Other
miscellaneous war treaties include an
Italian financial agreement, a Ger
man protocol as to the execution of
the armistice and a Greek-Bulgarian
emigration treaty.
Other Agreement? Considered.
Other agreements include conven
tions for the revision of the Berlin
and Brussels acts as to central
Africa, revision of the treaties of
1839 between Holland and Belgium,
and allocation of Spitzbergen to Nor
way and the Aland Islands to Sweden.
Manv general agreements foreseen
in the covenant of the league of na
tions are not included.
MAETERLINCK CANCELS
HIS ENGAGEMENT HERE
Maeterlinck will not appear in
Washington today.
Announcement of the cancellation of
the engagement for the Belasco
Theater was announced yesterday
afternoon by Manager L. Stoddard
Taylor.
"At five o'clock this afternoon I
received official notice of the cancel
lation of the. engagement for Sunday
afternoon of Maeterlinck." he said.
HEARING TOMORROW
ON RENT COMMISSION
Hearings before the Senate District
committee on the nominations of
James F. Oyster, A. Leftwich Sinclair
and Guy Mason to be members of the
District rent commission and of Dr.
John Van Schaick, jr., to be District
Commissioner, will be held tomorrow
morning.
The committee plans to act upon
these nominations as soon as possible.
Whether the hearings can be conclud
Whetner me ------- .
ed tomorrow will depend upon
number of witnesses asking
, hesenator Dillingham chairman of a
ZTtTZv!nt r^esT'drivingau
I tomobUe'in Washington will caU hjs
committee together during the week,
I he said last night.
$200,000 ' Slush" Fund in Chicago
Liquor Law Violations Is Charged
Federal Agents, Policemen and Politicians Among Those
Involved?Fake Robberies of Wholesale Liquor
Houses Rumored Incidents.
CHICAGO, January 10 (by the As
sociated Press).?Illegal movement
and sale of liquor in Chicago has net
ted federal agents, policemen and
politicians $200,000 or morn since
July 1, according to evidence which,
it is reported, has been turned over
to Daniel C. Roper. Internal revenue
commissioner, in Washington.
Reports about the federal building
here were that George Murdock, spe
cial investigator, and Charles F.
Clyne. United States district attor
ney, gave the information personally
to Roper.
Mr. Clyne Is due back in his office
tomorrow, and it was Intimated that
grand jury action was an almost im
mediate prospect.
Included in the rumored evidence
were stories of fake robberies of
wholesale liquor houses, removal of
the liquor to "clearing houses" of the
graft syndicate ana payment of fixed
sums for "protection" to police and
federal officials.
.Some of the larger city cafes are
said to have been assessed $500
j monthly, and one vender of illicit
I drinks is said to have justified ills
' price of $1.50 for a mixed drink by the
large amount he was compelled to
pay for "protection."
Kight federal liquor agents have
been relieved or taken leaves of ab
sence since the investigation started,
and when the new prohibition com
missioner takes charge next week
other members of the local force may
be ousted.
MR. BRYAN DENIES SPLITTING
WITH THE PRESIDENT ON PACT
(
Commoner Says They "Agree in Purpose" and
Differ Only Over Method?Both Want
Immediate Ratification.
JJ.v tlip Associnii'tl I'i
CHICAGO, January 10.?William
Jennings Bryan told reporters to
day that ho and President Wilson
"agree in purpose."
"We both want immediate rati
fication of the peace treaty and a
speedy establishment of the league
of nations." he said. "It is simply
a difference of opinion over a
method and not a purpose.
"There Is no reason why ad
vocacy of a compromise should be
interpreted as opposition to the
President. Mr. Wilson is an of
ficial and his recommendations
travel by their own weight.
"The Constitution gives the
President the right to make rec
ommendations to Congress. It
gives Congress the right to dis
regard these recommendations, just
as it empowers Congress to pass
laws and the President to veto
them."
Mr. Bryan said eighty-six sena
tors favor ratification of the treaty,
but differ as to reservations. He
advocated a compromise So as to
keep the treaty from becoming a
campaign issue, adding:
"If the republicans insist upon
reservations that the democrats
cannot accept, then the democrats
will he in a good position to take
it as an issue before the people."
Addressing the Iroquois Club,
Mr. Bryan said:
"If no compromise can be
reached we must acquiesce for
the present with the republican
majority." He proposed that in
that case enough democratic votes
be withdrawn to permit the repub
licans a constitutional two-thirds
vote by which the treaty arid the
league of nations covenant would
be ratified with reservations and
allow "the people to pass judg
ment" at the polls.
Mr. Bryan very emphatically
stated that there hid been no
"split" in the democratic party,
and that such a conclusion should
not be drawn from the addresses
of himself and President Wilson at
the Jackson day banquet.
"The President's letter read at
Washington," continued Mr. Bryan,
"contains ' oids open to construc
tion tlia' ite to me that com
promise .icssible. The Presi
dent did well at Paris. He did more
there than we -could expect any
man to do."
Mr. Bryan said his plan of com
promise or the alternative of al
lowing the republican majority to
record its will was "just the sim
ple old American plan of majority
rule." With ratification accom
plished, he said, "then we will
have peace and the league of na
tions and we can go to work."
Mr. Bryan said that there is no
real difference of opinion as to
article X. that the issue has be
come clouded by words and much
argument, and that all men must
agree that the righl to declare
war cannot be removed from
Congress.
"When I get through," Mr. Bry
an said, "the republicans .and
those who are anxious to believe
that there is a democratic split
will find nothing in my actions or
speech hostile to my party's wel
fare."
FEARS SHORT CROP
OF PERISHABLE FOOD
ALL OVER COUNTRY
F. W. Bolgiano Tells Agricultural
Council Less Than Half Usual
Amount of Seeds Are Sold.
Farmers and produce growers are
buying: less than 50 per cent of the
seed for spring planting that they
Sought in previous years. The whole
country faces the lowest production
year on perishable foodstuffs sincc
the outbreak of the war in 1914. The
joming summer the prices being paid
today for cabbage and other vege
tables will seem "dirt cheap." The
situation is declared to be "desper
ate."
The authority for this statement is
F. \V. Bolgiano, Washington set:*!
merchant, former president of the In
ternational Association of Seed Dis
tributors. Mr. Bolgiano has his finger
an the pulse of production. By the
iistribution of seed the quantity ol
:rop is determined.
He made these statements yester
day afternoon at the organization
meeting of the District of Columbia
Agricultural Council, fostered by the
Department of Agriculture, which
will conduct a campaign of home
glowing in gardens this spring in an
effort to avert sky-high prices.
"The law of supply and demand
regulates prices," declared Mr. Bolgi
ano in his address. "Stop talking
about profiteering and start produc
tion on the right scale and prices will
drop.
"You can't point out a single th'ng
that: Clarence R. Wilson, with the
fair price committee, has brought
down in price. If the money spent
by the fair price committee had been
used in a production campaign the
prices would be dropping this sum
mer instead of rising, a=s it !s con
fidently predicted they will.
"I am a director of the largest
commission house in the District of
Columbia. Where the case once was
that we would reply to wires offer
ing us carloads of produce for sale
with the answer: 'We can't handle
it. The market is filled!' today com
mission men are going across the
country begging farmers for 'stuff'?
as commission merchants call any
thing they handle?to sell.
"The situation is as desperate a pic
ture as can be painted. A typical in
stance is the case of a man who buys
ljeet seeds from me every year. In
former years I have sold him more
than fifty pounds for the season This
year he has bought only fifteen
pounds. Farmers will not plant be
cause of the prices of labor.
"We've got to do something. The
country demands it. Things must be
produced."
OfflcerH Are Elected.
Following his address the officers for
the first year of the District Council
of Agriculture were elected.
Mr. Bolgiano was chosen chairman,
E. F. Colladay and Joseph Bradley,
vice chairmen: T. W. Walton, secre
tary. and Mrs. Frederick Brooke,
treasurer.
The next step in the campaign or
ganized by the council will be a mem
bership drive for 2.000 members. One
of the features is the group member
ship, whereby citizens' associations
may enter the council with 100 mem
700 LIVES ARE LOST
:t
LONDON. January 10 (by the Asso
ciated Press).?An Exchange Telegraph
dispatch from Genoa today says the
Italian steamer I'rincipessa Mafalda is
reported to have struck a mine and sunk
with the loss of seven hundred lives.
The owners of the steamer have no
confirmation of this report, and it is
discredited by Lloyd's Shipping Agency
here.
The I'rincipessa Mafalda has not been
reported since she left Buenos Aires
December 31 for the Mediterranean. She
is not due to pass Gibraltar for several
days yet. however, the average time for
the run from Buenos Aires to Gibraltar
being twenty days.
The Principessa Mafalda is a steamer
of 9,210 tons gross, built in 1909. She
is owned by Lloyd-Italiano line.
"J"
bers. expenses being: paid by the
treasury of the association.
With the membership completed, it
is expected that the greatest home
garden drive ever inaugurated in
Washington will be launched.
Regarding: this, Mr. Bolgiano said:
"We need more than we ever need
ed before, more than we needed at
the outbreak of the war, the produc
tion of foodstuffs. And the home gar
dener must work to keep prices from
reaching exorbitant levels."
T he council will he a clearing house
for all agricultural activities in the
District. Through the state relation
service of the Department of Agricul
ture. co-operation with similar or
ganisations throughout Virginia and
Maryland will be forthcoming. W. R.
I Beattie. extension horticulturist of
j the Department of Agriculture, is rep
I resenting the Department of Agricul
j ture on the council.
Will Be Independent Body.
It is made clear in the constitution
| and by-laws adopted yesterdav that
the council will be :;n individual and
independent body, with no commercial
affiliations, but fosf-red and aided by
the states relation service.
Article II of the constitution reads:
"The object of this organization
shall be to advance the agricultural
and allied interest of the District of
I Columbia and the territory surround
ing it:
"1. By co-operating with and as
sisting organizations anil indivaduals
within the District of Columbia with
I problems relating to the production
of food:
"(a) By stimulating the cultivation
of the back yard, vacant lot and com
munity home vegetable gardens.
"(b) By encouraging commercial
gardeners in better growing, grading,
packing and marketing of their
! products.
j "2: By co-operating with and as
j sisting the various citizens' associa
tions and civic bodies of the District
? for the purpose of improving home
1 conditions, especially pertaining to
j lawns, flowers and the beautification
lot' the honu.
I ""?? ^-v c?-?Perating with and as
sisting the District Commissioners
I and all branches of the District gov
i ernment in any work relating to ag
riculture and home economics.
"4. By co-operating with and as
i sisting county agents and other mem
bers of the state extension forces
operating in the counties of Maryland
and Virginia that border upon the
District or that have special interests
centering therein."
Article IV declares that the govern
ment shall be vested in a board of
twenty-one directors.
The board of directors shall have
the power to enter into co-operative
agreements with the federal Depart
ment of Agriculture and to employ
skilled or technical help.
Those appointed to tentative chair
manships of the principal committors
are: E. F. Colladay,- membership;
former Representative Albert Douglas
of Ohio, legislative; Cuno H. Rudolph,
finance; F. B. Tiggins, gardening;
Henry E. Gash, dairying, and A. J.
Driscoll, marketing.
The next meeting of the council is
subject to call.
SAX ANTONIO, Texas, January 10.
?Warning that Luis Cabrera, chief of
the Mexican cabinet, had suggested
the expulsion from Mexico of more
than two hundred Americans because
they had organized at Tampico a post
of the American Legion was sent to
day to Franklin D'Olier. national com
mander of the organization, by Charles
IW. Scruggs, state adjutant of the
I legion.
j The report that reached Scruggs
from Tampico was that Cabrera had
instructed the mayor of Tampico to
investigate the "American Legion of
Honor," and notify him immediately
if it were true "that Americans had
dared to organize a-military league In
Mexico."
Representative Gould Calls
City's Surplus "Indictment"
Against Legislators.
"EVERY DOLLAR SHOULD
HAVE BEEN MATCHED"
In Statement He Tells Why He
Will Fierht Mapes Bill to Abol
ish PO-SO Plan.
Tin- much-talked of surplus to the
credit of the District in the federal
treasury, used as an excuse for the
Mapes bill, which proposes to abolish
the time-honored half-and-half sys
tem ?f financing the National Capi
tol, is in reality "an indictment
against Congress" for not match
ing dollar with dollar, as the organic
act proposed, for tho proper main
tenance and development of the seat
of government, accordng to Represent
ative Norman J. Gould of New \ork.
Tomorrow the Mapes bill, voted out.
from the committee when only a lew
members were present and a numbet
1 of those who were in attendance re
[ served the right to oppose the meas
i ure in the House, is to be thrown open
tor debate, with representative Gould
in charge of the time for those who
are lo speak against the bill.
I'ulntN to Obvion? Xcfds.
There would be 110 such surplus if
'Congress gave the District the ob
viously needt J improvements, such
as more school buildings, larger police
and lire-fighting forces, with better
fire equipment, enlarged water supply,
more complete municipal hospital sy s
tem and highway improvements, -vlr.
Gould emphasizes. J .. . _ _
1 Because lit- is convinced that Con
gress has proved a "neg.igent pro
vider" for the National ^aP"al'-a"'J
because as a business man he finds
that this in no way shows the resi
dents of the District are undertaxed.
Representative Gould, as one 01 tne
nine (out of twelve) republican mem
bers of the House District committee
working to defeat the Mapes bill ex
plained his position, last night, as
follows:
Krason for Further Aid.
"Much confusion seems to prevail
in the minds of some regarding the
surplus of District revenues lying idle
in the Treasury. It appears to be re
garded as proof that the District,
raising more money than can be
expended upon its maintenance, does
not need the support of government
funds as provided for by the half-and
half law. At first X confess, 1 was so
impressed, until I came to understand
just what this surplus really is, how
it was formed and why it remains un
expended. It is now clear to me that
this surplus is really an indictment
of Congress in respect to the proper
maintenance of the National Capital,
and that so far from being a reason
against the continuance of the half
and-half system, it is a reason for
the faithful discharge of that obliga
"This surplus, which amounted to
$4,063,922.18 at the end of the last
fiscal year, is an accumulation of un
expended District revenues assessed
on property of the District, and not
one cent from the government. It
the organic act under which the Dis
trict is financed had been faithtully
followed there would have been no
surplus. Every dollar of Iiistrict
monev,' as raised by actual assess
ment," would have been expended,
along with an accompanying dollar
of federal money. Kut the Commis
sioners' estimates, limited by a law
which I regard as unwise and unfair
to the District, and which should he
repealed, as the Commissioners now
recommend, are not fully met by the
appropriations of the Congress: it is
obvious to anybody who has studied
the situation here that the District is
not fully equipped, that it needs many
more school buildings, a larger police
?->rce a larger and better equipped
/ire department, a large street and
highway improvement program, a
more complete municipal hospital
system, and, above all, a greatly en
larged water supply.
"If the Commissioners had not been
estopped by the estimate-limitation
statute they doubtless would have called
upon Congress year after year for larger
appropriations, to meet these needs. And
if Gongresfe had complied, even to the
extent merely of matching every Dis
trict dollar with a federal dollar, as the
organic act requires, there would hav?
been no surplus. In other words, if
all the money raised by the District for
its maintenance had been expended, as
the organic act contemplates, and as the
Districts needs require, there would
have been no accumulated unexpended
balance, and the action anil judgment,
good or bad. of the appropriation com
mittee of the House of Representatives
is wholly responsible.
See Surplud xik Repronch.
"So that I see this surplus as a re
proach upon Congress as a negligent
provider for the National Capital. It
should not, to my mind, serve as a
temptation to Congress to scrap the
half-and-half system, under which
Washington has become so nearly the
ideal city of the nation, even with in
adequate provision of funds. It is not
in any manner or degree an indication
that the District is undertaxed. It is
proof that Washington has systemati
cally for some years been kept on
short commons by its legislators. If
it were a proof of undertaxation, why
the urgent cry now from the Commis
sioners for larger appropriations?
"I must admit that there is force
(Continued on Second Page.)
Champions the District
in Half-and-HaH Fight
Of \cw V?rk. wlin has takrn an active
pari in legislation licnMicial to the
liivtrict. and ulio iiou urtfrs that
Coii^roNN should j;ive larger school,
police. water supply*
highway and hospital facilities.
HKI'HKSKXTATIVK NO It 31A \ J.
(.1)1 I,!)
ADMIRAL KOrtHAK
IS UNDER ARREST
I
| Ordered io Hand Over Con
trol of Affairs?Reds Make
New Military Gains.
i
| LONDON". January 10 (by the Asso
; (iated Press).?Admiral Kolchak.
j head of the all-Russian government
j in Siberia, has been arrested at
j Irkutsk by Col. Pepeliayev, according
j to a ^Moscow wireless dispatch dated
I Friday. Col. Pvpeliavev ordered his
prisoner to hand oyer control of all
affairs, it is added.
(The Col. Pepeliayev mentioned in
the foregoing* may be Victor Pepe
liayev. the premier of the all-Russian
government, which removed its head
1 quarters to Irkutsk after the capture
jof Omsk. Possession of Irkutsk was
reported to have been seized recently
j by insurgent forces. Admiral Kol
chak was reported early this month
j to be a considerable distance west
I of Irkutsk, a dispatch January 2 re
porting him at Achinsk, 220 miles
east of Tomsk.)
! Odessa Surrounded.
The city of Odessa has been sur
rounded by Ukrainian insurgents, it
is declared in a wireless dispatch
from Moscow today.
Gen. Denikine's troops, the message
reports, are retreating in the direc
tion of Khersen, eastward from Odessa.
The red forces have taken the town
of Nakhitchevan. in the territory of
the Don Cossacks, and entered the
outskirts of Rostoff-on-the-Don, ac
cording to a Moscow wireless message.
In the advance on RostofF. says the
dispatch, the reds took 11.000 prisoners,
seven tanks, thirty-three guns and
170 machine guns.
Poles Continue Advance.
PARIS. January 10 (French Wire
less Service).?Polish 1roor>? are con
tinuing to advance in the Ukraine, ac
cording to advices from Warsaw. A
I Polish battalion has just occupied
the important railway junction of
? Zmerinka.
STOCKHOLM. January 1?. -Gen.
j Wannerheim, former Finnish premier
and commander of the Finnish white
j forces in the struggle of 1918, is soon
to have under his command all the
anti-bolshevik forces on the western
Russian frontier, from the White sea
to the Hlack sea, it is asserted in ^
Helsingfors message to a local news
paper today.
j GOV. YAGER OF PORTO
RICO CRITICALLY ILL
I SAN JUAN. Porto Rico. January 10.
I?Gov. Yager is critically ill. follow
ing a severe intestinal hemmorhage
which his physicians announced was
the result of a complication of dis
eases from which he has been suf
fering for several months. A bulle
tin issued by the doctors this morn
ing says:
"Gov. Yager's condition is serious.
He slept for several hours during the
night and his pulse shows some im
provement this morning. Absolute
| repose is imperative."
! Last night the governor's condi
j tion was such that Mrs. Yager and
the members of his family, who are
I in the I'nited States, were advised.
I The heads of government departments
were also notified.
"EXPECT SKATING TODAY
ON BASIN," SAYS LEECH
At the office of the superin
tendent of public buildings and
grounds it was said last, night that
the tidal basin would be thrown
open to skaters at 8 o'clock today.
The cold wind of yesterday froze
the thin layer of water that cov
ered the five inches of ice.
1.. Gordon Leech, manager of the
basin, is prepared for a big rush
and promises a carnival, with races
as one-of the features, if the basin
is covered with ice all week Only
very warm weather will kill the
chances of skating today.
Socialists Again Name Berger
Half Hour After His Exclusion
"Will Keep on Until Hades Freezes Over " Declares
Wisconsin Committee, Which Threatens
Vengeance in Ballot Box.
By the Associated Tress.
MILWAUKEE. Wis.. January 10
(by the Associated Press).?The
socialist committee of the fifth
Wisconsin congressional district,
I within a half hour after receiving the
i news that Victor Berger had been ex
cluded from Congress a second time,
renominated him.
The statement -was made that he
would be the candidate of the party
at a special election to be demanded
from the governor.
"We will keep on nominating B
ger until hades freezes over if
unatoerican aggregation called Co
lamerlc
?
I gress continues to exclude him," de
clared a statement issued by the com-'
! inittee.
"We want every person In this coun
try to understand that the voters of
the fifth Wisconsin district know ex
actly whom they want their repre
i sentative in Congress and we do not
; purpose to let Cillett and his bunch
of Wall street fawners dictate to us
on the subject.
"Berger is our Congressman and the
action of Congress In unseating
hiin a second time only starts the real
fight that will not end until every
one of the reactionaries who voted
in today's disgraceful proceedings
have been retired by the ballot to the
oblivion thev so riehlv deserve."
J ]
WASHINGTON'S
PER CAPUA TAX
BURDEN IS HEAVY
Assessment Exceeds That of
59 Out of 68 Largest
Cities in U. S.
EXEMPT PROPERTY
GREATEST IN CAPITAL
Many Non-Taxpaying Transientg
and Small Industrial
Resources Here.
THEODORE W. NOYES.
| editorial I'orrt'HpondeiM* "f Tlio St?r.!
In this column of yesterday Star
the census figures were Riven which
showed th:it Ohio. Virginia and Rhode
Island, like the District of Columbia,
raised their tax money by applying
a low tax rate to ii high assessment,
and that all four differed in this re
spect from states like Illinois. Iowa,
etc., which raise substantially similar
tax revenues by applying a high tax
rate to a tow assessment.
Is there any indication that 'he
Washington standard of assessment is
higher even than the high standard
that prevails in the cities of ohio.
Virginia and Ithode Island.'
Taking Cincinnati as a sample city.1
"full valuation" in Ohio, though high,
is obviously somewhat less than the
"full valuation" of the Washington
assessor. Cincinnati is larger in area
than Washington by nearly 7.000 acres.
It lias 42,000 largei population, and is
a prosperous, busy, commercial city,
full of costly industrial plants, and
with nearly all its realty on the tax
I list. Taxable Washington is only
i a fraction of the total realty, the ex
I empt realty aggregating $36S.000.000.
Nevertheless the Washington assessor
isavs that on full valuation the
I fraction of Washington is worth $t.l..,
26H.414. or $122,173,114 more Ulan the
Cincinnati assessor says the w'hole or
that great city is worth ( $493,0* i ,.100).
i Ciearly the Washington assessor
applies a higher standard <'f assess
ment in determining what constitute*
"full valuation" than the Cincinnati
[assessor. . ? ,, ,
Our assessor puts the full value or
the national exempt property in
Washington at S36S.635.6M'. If thin
'sum lie added to the sum llxed by our
! assessor as the full value ol all the
taxable real estate in 191S there will
I result, as the assessor's estimate of
the full value oi nil Washington.
$9S3.S96.094, a greater valuation by
i $236.110.5-S4 than that placed by the
Cleveland assessor upon that great
city, a valuation greater than that
placed by the assessors upon any
oilier city in the United States, ex
cept New York. Chicago, Philadelphia
and IJoston; a greater valuation, by
$S6.672.9ti5. than those put by their
assessors on Cincinnati, Providence
and Richmond combined.
i Surely there is a very pointed sug
! gestion in these figures that Wasli
i ington's standard of assessment is
high<r than even the high standards
of Ohio, Rhode Island and Virginia
| cities.
-Minority" Find Capital Fairly Taxed.
I Discarding the full valuation false
pretense standard of measurement, the
1 "minority" of the District committee
have compared in the aggregate and
i per capita the actual dollars of tax
| levy and tax receipts raised in th?
I respective cities, on the theory that
i these dollars constitute the real tax
f burdens that are to be compared.
Their thoughtful and deliberate
! conclusions are thus expressed in
i their report:
"The properly taxe* pnld by rill
rcn* of \Vanhington are fairly com
parable in every nnj to the dive*
paid by citiren* of other cllir* nimilar
to Wnnhington in resource* nnil pop
Illation. . . M hen It In eoimlderrd
that the vn*? holding" of the goiern
ment are exempt from taxation and
that n large part of the moat val
uable realty in the Dixtriet in govern
ment properly, and when It b farther
considered that approximately one
quarter of the clty'a population la
colored and pay* a *mall proportion
of the taxe* and thnr many thou*anda
more of II* inhabitant* are govern
ment employe*, most of whom pay a
Mmall tax and many of whom pay nont
at all. it would *e-m it* rltixena are
KufUciently taxed warn It* per capita
realty and general property tnxe* ex
ceed thoMc of a majority of \mericaM
cllle* of over ItNMMIO population. It
In our conclu*ioii. therefore, that the
people of the I>l*trict are bow taxed
fairly and reaaonably."
Analyst* of Washington Taxation.
Washington's realty tax burden IS
heavy. Its tax rate is moderate, but
its assessment is high, compared with
that of other cities. Its per capita
realty assessment exceeds lhat cl ri9
out of the 68 largest cities of the
United States?all the cities of the
United States having over 100.000
population, excluding itself.
It is perhaps the only city in the
United States whose realty assess
ment actually forms a higher per
centage of true value than the nomi
nal and reported percentage. Accord
ing to the census bureau the reported
relation of assessed to true value ol
real estate in Washington is 66%
per cent. That is. under the law
here, which requires that the as
sessment shall be not less than two
thirds, it is rated at 66%.
The actual relation, the assessor
has declared, averaged 70 per cent in
191"> In other cities, with few ex
ceptions, the actual percentage rela
tion of assessed to true valuation is
from one-third to three-fourths of the
reported percentage relation.
Since the imposition of the tax on
intangibles Washington's personalty
tax burden is reasonably high The
tax on the" franchise, good will, etc.,
of public utility corporations?such
as gas electric lighting and telephone
companies, banks and trust compa
nies. incorporated savings
building associations, etc., measued by
a percentage of the gross reoelpU
(which in Washington is unusually
heavy)?is not classified by the cen
sus authorities as a personalty tax.
but in fairness should be thus con
sidered in comparisons with other
^Washington's property tax burden,
combining its realty tax and Hs per
sonaltv tax. is heavier than that of
most American cities, and averages
ITn with that of cities approximating
it in s.ze and general conditions One
hund-ed and seventy-six out of 221
American cities over 30.000 in popu
lation bear a lighter burden. None
Of the group Of neighboring cities
and only one of all the southern
cities show a higher property tax
per capita.
Comparing All Ta* Receipt?.
Washington's Lax burden.
Iji- the per capita recefpls from ??