Evening star. [volume], November 10, 1923, Page 6, Image 6

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
6
•THE EVENING STAB
With Sunday Morning Edition. (
WASHINGTON, D. C,
SATURDAY, . .November, 10, 1923
, 'THEODORE W. NOYES Editor
* Wbe Evening Star Newspaper Company
JtaiiDem Office. TJth St. «n<t Pennsylvania Arr,
New York office; 110 East tund St.
Chicago Office: Togcr HuUding.
European Office: 10 Regent St., London, England.
The Evening Star, with the Snnday morning
edition, la delivered by carriers within tbe
eify at SO rents per montii; daily only, 43
f rents per month: Sunday only. r<> cents per
Inonth. Order!, may Ist went by mail or tele
phone Main 5000. Collection is made by car
rier* at the end of each month.
Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance.
Maryland and Virginia.
3'nlly and Sunday. .1 yr., $8.40; 1 mo., 70c. 1
3 ’ally only 1 yr., $6.00; 1 mo., 60c
punday only 1 yr., $2.40; 1 mo., 20c j
All Other States.
’ Dally and Sunday.l yr., $10.00: 1 mo., 85c
Daily only 1 yr., $7.00; 1 mo.. «0o
•JiUliday only 1 yr., $3.00; 1 mo., 25c
Member of the Associated Press.
The Associated Press is exclusively entitled
to use for republic* tion of all news dls
patches credited to it or ne t otherwise credited
jo this paper and also the news pub
* Slahed heroin. All rights of publiemtioa of
rperial dispatches herein are also resorred,
Failure of the Reparations Move.
French reservations have prevented
participation by the United States in
an economic survey of the reparations
question, and the effort to bring about
tin international inquiry looking to a
settlement of this vexing and danger
involving problem on the basis of an
expert determination of the capacity
i,f Germany to pay her obligations is
ended. It does not follow, of course,
that the whole project is closed. It
may be revived. But for the present
it would seem that the French stipula
tions, which were not modified despite
direct “conversations” between Wash
ington and Paris, act us barrier
against an all-allied research.
Two points in the French stipula-j
lions servo to bar this government '
from participation. One was that the
inquiry should not touch upon the
legal and political aspects of the Ruhr
occupation, the manner in which
* France collected and imposed taxes
there, the guarantees seized or the j
agreements with German industrials i
in that region. The other was that f
tbe Inquiry into Germany’s capacity ,
to pay must not go beyond the year j
1930. Poincare was willing that the ex- i
ports should investigate the economic ;
and industrial condition of the Ruhr j
with relation to the value of estab- •
bailments and their products! e power, j
’ He was willing also that the inquiry ■
..should go to the point of determining ;
Germany’s “present” capacity to' pay 1
within a seven-year limit.
It is plain that France has held out \
in these stipulations, first against any !
accounting, political or otherwise, of '
the Ruhr occupation, and second j
against any protraction of the period !
of reparation payment*. It is equally 1
plain that the considerations upon i
which these stipulations were based .
were of a domestic political character, j
c’That is to say, Poincare is unwilling. !
..doubtless unable politically, to • make •
-any concessions either on the score of j
: !iie propriety of the Rv.hr occupation 5
nr that of the requirement that Ger-1
many pay promptly.
As the case now stands the United j
. States has made tender of its good of- i
tlces through expert representatives to ;
adjust the reparations question, as*
participant in an international survey, j
Those good offices have been accepted 1
in principle, but rejected in effect I
..through the conditions imposed. This
leaves the matter of reparations pre-'
riiicly where it was before Lord Curzon ;
wrote to Secretary Hughes suggesting :
. £ move by the United States. That is, !
it is back at the starting point.
Intimation has been advanced that |
Great Britain may now propose, and j
-possibly promote, an international in- ■
which does not include France.
j-This is not likely to be pressed. The i
* United States certainly could not enter j
such a survey. France would sharply I
resent it. The effect would boa dis- I
solution of the. alliance, which Great
> Britain has ample YeaSOn to avoid.
Meanwhile, France and Belgium are
in the Ruhr, and will doubtless stay
' until tbe situation has been brought
to the point of yielding payments from
Germany. There is no prospect what
ever of a break-up of the Franco-
Belgian understanding.
The most important result of the
episode is that the United States has
demonstrated its willingness to take
part in an effort to resolve the situa
tion. It has shown Its good faith and
concern for the welfare of Europe.
In behalf of a metropolis it is occa
sionally proper to mention the fact
that a greet city is seldom as had as
its divorce news would seem to imply.
Orer-thfi-line Crime.
The sheriff-elect of Prince Georges
county says; “I am under no obliga
tion to gamblers and other violators of
the law. I’ll do my duty. 4 ’ Other men
holding the office of sheriff of Prince
Georges and other countiqs near Wash
ington have expressed themselves in
the sam« way, and an Insinuation that
there have been sheriffs who were un
der obligation to gamblers and other
violators of law should not be read
Into the statement of Sheriff-elect
John Fink. That charge has been
pnade by many persons, but it is easy
to make charges. The fact stands that
-the application of the law by some
sheriffs has not been satisfactory to
• law-respect in g people in counties ad
joining the District and to people
' within the District.
Certain species of law- breakers who
cannot follow their trade in Washing
ton have found refuge across the Dis
trict line in Maryland and Virginia,
and sometimes it has not been easy
to stir the county officers to the point
of driving them out. It should be said,
though, that after a certain amount
of exposure and publicity the law of
’ Ccers have done what was expected
of them. Generally when the clamor
subsides the law-breakers, exiled from
r the District, set up their gambling out
-1 fits and drinking bars again across the
line, and continue operations until
there Is another uproar of public in
, dignatlon. . .
Thera is another side to this, as to
.all shields. Prince Georges is a large
p and populous county. There Is a big
" stretch of territory between the Poto
mac and Patuxent and Paint branch
und Mattawoman creek. Normally the
1 sheriff is a very busy man,, sad many
sheriffs have felt that they had nacre
Important calls on them than In keep
: ing Washington gamblers from fleec
ing Washington victims. A gambler
or whisky seller opens his shack across
the line, and his patrons come from
Washington. There is little complaint
In the neighborhood, and few of the
neighbors know or care about what is
going on. They often take the position
that city people's ways are hard to
understand, and if they want to loss
their money at games It is their own
affair. Sheriffs have taken this view,
and have gone about their business at
Marlboro. Piscataway, Surrattavllle,
Cheltenham and Bright seat.
The District police and the news-
I papers begin a campaign against
. orgies across the District line. Law
! respecting people In the county be-
I come aroused, denounce the situation
as reflecting upon the good name of
the county and state and call up the
sheriff, who calls out his deputies.
The evildoers are driven back to the
city. Things quiet down and they j
cross the line again. It would seem
that with this history before him a
sheriff would not wait for a public hue
and cry, but would close up the Joints
soon after being opened. Prompt ac
tion would save him much trouble and
spare him much criticism.
The Beer-Hall Revolt Collapses.
Another German putsch has fliv
vered. The Bavarian revolt, which
started in a beer cellar in Munich,
fizzled completely and quickly. Von
Hitler at present reports Is a fugitive
and Ludendorff, having made his mag
nificent gesture, is a prisoner under
parole, having pledged his honor not
to engage again in any further revo
lutionary movement.
The suddenness and completeness
with which the “beer-hall revolution"
collapsed must have a moaning to the
j German people. It is certainly a re
| assurance to those who support the
republic, and it must be a reassurance
as Well tn the foreign governments
that -are concerned to see Germany
stabilized and put In the way of meet
ing her war obligations.
! This is at least the fourth reaction
• that has failed in Germany since the
f war. First came the Sporticide re
, volt, a communist uprising that was
: put down at heavy cost in lives. Then |
i occurred the Rapp putsch, a monarch- ,
■ ical movement, which failed quickly j
and cost little. Lately the Rhineland]
! separatist movement developed and Is i
; now In tbe last stages of failure. The .
■ fourth is the von Hitler-Ludendorff ■:
j monarchical movement, which was a |
' flash in the pan. In addition there j
| was recently a red uprising at Ham- :
.burg, which was suppressed after aj
j few hours.
Thus there Wave been two mon- j
j archical reactions, one. perhaps two. i
' communist uprisings, and one sep- j
' aratist movement. The Saxon-Thu-j
I ringian affair has not been reckoned. |
jas it did not reach the point of or- \
■ ganizatlon or demonstration.
: The conclusion to be drawn from j
; these records is that the German peo- i
, pic do not want an overturn either j
; for monarchy or for community, that j
] they are content with the present i
. form of government, however inept i
I the administration may have been, j
j and however deeply Germany has i
j been plunged into economic stress j
i through the political moves of the j
1 Berlin ministers. 1
President Coolidge Is Right. |
! Announcement at the White House i
. that President Coolidge will reftme to !
■ set aside the executive order of Presl- j
■ dent Harding enforcing prohibition on
j American ships outside the three-mile
! limit Is conforming to the spirit of the j
j law. To be sure, hla refusal to permit j
; the opening of the bars on American {
j ships, once they are beyond territorial ]
1 waters, will place our passenger- j
j carrying vessels at a disadvantage J
j with British ships whlqh arc to be i
| given the privilege of carrying liquor
for use outside the limit, to be sealed
while the ships are in port.
But the President is Intent upon en
forcing the law both in letter and i
spirit. It is not quite a seemly spec- j
tacle, the sight of an American ship at i
dock obeying the Jaw, with no visible
sign of liquor aboard, and then, on
signal, flashing up a completely
stocked bar of liquors banned on shore
by the law. Nor for a homeward-bound
vessel, which had been selling liquor
all the way across, upon nearing shore
to conceal all evidences and creep
into port smugly as if nothing had
ever happened. '
The Supreme Court, construing the
rigid terms of the Volstead act, has
ruled that foreign vessels could not
have liquor aboard their ships In
American ports, even though they
were under seal and to be used only
at sea. This ruling will be superseded
by a treat}-, which Is superior to on
act of Congress, permitting the Brit
ish ships to keep liquor aboard, under
seal. In return for this Great Britain
will help the United States to put
down smuggling by granting the right
of search up to twelve miles from
shore.
This treaty will operate to aid en
forcement, and should be ratified by
the Senate.
The belief is expressed by Mr. James
M. Cox that the democrats will win
next year. Hi is regarded as perfectly
willing to back his Judgment to the
extent of being a candidate himself.
■■ " ■ "
Franco, prefers a Germany thorough
ly in debt, but at the same time not
quite so desperate as not to care.
’ "** '
Willie Bans Home. !
Surprising news comes from Holland
and Germany today. The former
crown prince, Frederick William, baa
crossed the frontier into Germany, and
his flight is officially acknowledged by
the Netherlands government. One dis
patch states that he had permission
to go. This contradicts a recent dis
patch to the effect that tbe govern
ment at The Hague had given assur
ances to the allied powers that It
would not permit tbe German refugee
to leave.
If Holland has given such assur
ances and permitted Frederick Wil
liam to cross the border that govern
ment will find Itself in an embarrass
ing position. It will have to apologize
to the allied powers, and it should de
mand of. Germany tbe return of tbe
THE EVENING i STAR, WASHINGTON. D. C- SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10. 1923.
fugitive, however unwelcome be -may I
be. * T *
The coincidence of Frederick Wil
liam's flight with the collapse of the
Bavarian revolt may have significance.
Does It mean that the Hohenzollerns
are on the point of striking for restora
tion? It would seem to be an unpro
pitious time for any monarchical
movement, whether for the Wlttels
bach or the Hohensollern houses.
There is no doubt whatever that
, Frederick William wants to go back,
that he is fully "fed up” with exile.
It has been intimated that he wants
to live on his "estates” in Silesia, and
that he has given certain pledges that
fce will live there quietly and take part
in no political affairs. But little de
pendence can be placed in his purposes
and promises. With him in Germany
he becomes a trouble center, and Ger
many assuredly has enough trouble
now without this addition to her stock
of mischief-making elements.
Care of Parks.
Washington falls behind in the up
keep of parks. Higher wages for men,
higher cost of material and diminished
appropriations are having their effect
on their appearance and development.
Without more money for spending on
the public reservations they may soon
have a shabby, seedy look. These
facts are brought out in the annual
report of Col. Kherrill, superintendent
of public buildings and grounds. He
says that during the lost fiscal year
the sum spent on Washington parks
was $. r i31.219. as compared with the
average of $1,151,331 spent by Minne
apolis, Buffalo. Baltimore. Detroit and
San Francisco. Each of these cities
spent about double the sum spent on
parka In the .American Capital. The
average park area in those cities is
2.452 acres, while the park area of
Washington is 2,83 d.
Thus we have considerably more
I«rk space than the average for the
five cities, and we have less than half
a* much money to spend on them.
Baltimore nearly equals us in park
area, having 2,560 acres, and that city
spent in the last fiscal year $1,230,954.
In the matter of population the cities
named exceed us, the average popula
tion is C33.0U0. while the population
of Washington is set down at 450,000.
j The taxable resources of those cities
| are far greater than the taxable re
j sources of Washington, and they can
I afford to spend the money. There
| should bo no neglect of the Capital’s
i parks. The District needs more park
i land, and care must be- taken of the |
j parks it alreadv has.
j There are editors in Europe who see j
I in America’s efforts to relieve distress j
only a method of creating impression 1
j favorable to ultimate financial or I
i political purposes. It is difficult for a 1
i mind thoroughly educated in old-world '
I diplomacy to admit the possibility of j
j a genuinely disinterested motive.
T *U T
1 The desire to present I’resident Cool- i
j idge with noma kind of household pet j
• asserts itself in all parts of the coun- j
j try. If there is any efficiency in mas-!
| cots his administration should be most i
j fortunate.
| It Is confidently predicted that with
i in a few years the traffic in alcoholic
i beverages will be discountenanced by
Ilaw in England. Prohibition is no
longer regarded merely as -one of those
| quaint American customs.
1
i Forecasting becomes harder as time
I passes, owing to the fact that a citl
j zen's vote on issues of a more or less
local character is no guarantee as to
j how he trill mark his ballot for a
j national election.
j Soviet Russia is at last able to look
j around the map in its vicinity and as-
I sume an air of superior calm.
1 In certain peris of Germany they
I are thinking more of repairs than of
reparations.
SHOOTING STABS.
—— • 1
BY PHILAXDEB JOHNSON.
I
A Modest Gratitude.
“I’m thankful just to be on earth,’’ I
Said Ilczekioh Bings,
“Although I miss the glittering mirth j
That higher fortune brings.
Os course, I envy men more wise
And also men more good.
And those who grasp some wondrous
prize
By moans scarce understood.
“And yet when simple joys are mine,
Suoh as all men may know.
And rest comes with the stars that
shine
Beyond the twilight glow.
This life of ours seems fully worth
The troubles that it brings.
I’m thankful Just to be on earth,”
Bald Hezekiah Bings.
Respectful Repression.
“Do you sing ‘The Star Spangled
Banner?’ ”
"Never,” replied Senator Sorghum.
“We can't all be gifted musically, and
the way for' some of us to show our
honest regard for a grand song is not
to try to sing It.”
Jud Tunkins says one of the hardest
worked men be knows of is one who
good-naturedly got the reputation of
always being the life of the party.
Emblem of the Season.
The shovel soon abroad will go
Our efforts to control. »
When you’re not busy; shovelin' snow.
You’ve got to shovel coal.
The Cheerless Voter.
“How are you going to vote next
election?”
“Same os usual,” answered Fanner
Corntossel; “not with any great ex
pectations that it’ll do any good, but
because it furnishes a good excuse for
goln’ to town.”
Attention.
"There is some gossip about Mrs.
Muggs.”
“Really!” exclaimed Miss Cayenne.
“She is coming on. For years she has
not been considered important enough
to be gossiped about.”
“De man dat whistles all de time,”
said Uncle Bben, “is less worry dan
de one who talks constantly, ’cause
you knows at de start be aln’ trying
to mates sense.” j
1
f IN TODAY’S SPOTLIGHT |
BY PAULV. COLLINS
The greatest water power in the
world is said to be in tbe African
Kongo, but it is not worth a wagon
load of German marks, for there la
no demand for its power by anybody
within commercial reach of it.
In the United States it is found
that the greatest natural water power
Is located on the west of the Rocky
mountains, and the greatest demand
for power lies with the more densely
populated east. It is not possible to
move the people westward to the
power and it is Just as obviously im
possible to bring the Pacific coast
power to the Atlantic. All that the
east can do is to study the possi
bilities of developing what power re
sources nature has vouchsafed us
and note what problems the far west
has solved. Upon the Pacific coast
there is superpower extending from
British Columbia to Mexico, with but
four breaks, totaling twenty-five
miles, yet not all of even the power
possibilities of Washington and Ore
gon—blest as are those states with
nature’s “white fuel”—has been har
nessed.
** * *
There has long been a problem be- ;
fore engineers as to what to do with
the potential power of the Great
falls of the Potomac. Tens of thou
sands of wild horses are prancing
over the rocks of Great falls, within
fifteen miles of the National Capital,
which ought to be hitched to our
street cars and to the machines
grinding our electric lights and to
scores of other kinds of machines
working for our comfort.
There have been many plans put !
on paper by government engineers
and very much misunderstanding on
the part of Congress and the public
as to what constitutes a water power
plant. The public learns that a cer
tain fall of water is equivalent to
so many thousands of horsepower
nnd calculates, therefore, that as
“the mill will never grind again
with the water that Is past.” the
country has lost billions of dollars,
which have flowed over the falls |
since th» Declaration of Indepen
dence. Much economists forget the
cost of building a dam, with a
system of conservation reservoirs In
which to store water In seasons of
full flow for use in equalizing dry
periods. They forget the cost of
carrying the current for distribution,
the overhead of upkeep and running.
As one of the government’s expert
engineers has remarked: "This pop
ular Ignorance Is due primarily to
lack of correct information."
V * * t-
The report of Maj. M. O. Taylor to
Maj. Gen. Lansing It. Beach, chief of]
engineers, covers a new plan for
harnessing Great Falls, wish “brace
dams at Chain bridge and above the
1 falls and storage reservoirs in Great
j ftcapon river, the north fork of the
?Shenandoah and the south branch
lof the Potomac. That project would
(cost $44,421 .OOP. It would require an
j annual upkeep of $4,534,803. Wlth
■ out the reservoirs, the cost of the j
| water power plant alone would be
(some $15,000,000 less, but it would!
j then require emergency steam plants j
'to cover periods of low water in I
1 connection with the electric plant. I
) The Tyler plan is indorsed by the I
} Federal Power Commission, which I
1 estimates that, with it. electric cur
; rent delivered at way stations would
i cost between 5.6 and 7.9 mills; but
j that even at the higher figure, it
1 would be much cheaper than coal.
Also. Ih<- capacity of the plant would
Ibe not less than 075.000.000 kilowatt
j hours annually—far more than Wash- '
Ilngton Is now consuming for all pur-
I poses. Presumably, the cost above
quoted means 7.9 mills per kilowatt ,
hour, at* contra-sted with the present;
rata to householders of 10 cents.
a* * *
There has been a greater advance
in the development of hydroelectric
power In the United State.s sinoe
Congress passed the water power act
!of 1920 than during a.ll the period
i since the passage of the first act of
1896. At the time the present law
Destroyer Wreck Draws
Editors’ Concerted Fire
That ‘it must never occur again" •
seems the ■unanimous sentiment of
the 'various editors who are debating
the duty of the naval court-martial,
now In progress at San Diego, placing
the complete degree of responsibility
i and Axing the punishment for the of
(floera of the ill-fated destroyer squad
j ron which furnished the "greatest
| peaoe-timo catastrophe" of the Amer
-1 lean Navy. Editor* unanimously in
j dorse the result of the court of in-
I qulry, which preceded the assembling
lof the general court. But they feel
1 that it is up to the court-martial to
1 say how far the “follow your leader”
j methods In destroyer navigation shall
j continue In the future and to throw
I complete light on all of the event*
i that led up to the tragedy.
“The court of inquiry has under
stated rather than overstated the
facts when It declared that fatal
cruise reflected 'no credit upon the
Nary,'" says the Boston Transcript, i
because “our naval officers ought to 1
have the training and the experience
to enable them to be better navi
gators than this. We have a right
to expect from them the utmost care
in navigating the ships over which
they are placed in command. How
ever, the acta of Individual heroism
and the discipline and daring of the
crews show that the' Navy of today
worthily upholds the traditions of the
Navy of other ream" The Bing
hamton Sun feel* a “new responsi
bility will be established by the court
martial" .and "that human lives and
costly ships will be placed above the
time-worn traditions.”
** * *
“Our Navy won Its best laurels in
the days when vessels fought indi
vidually and initiative was developed
to the utmost,” claims the New York
Post, and "in running along a dan
gerous coast in time of peace officers
should show sufficient enterprise to
make their own observations and
maintain their own alertness to dan
ger. The hearing showed negligence
of a kind that oaa do a navy more
harm than mild insubordination."
Agreeing that "the largest measure
of individual alertness and accounta
bility on the part of officers la de
sirable," the New Tork Tribune hope*
"the court-martial may find reason to
distinguish a little more clearly be
tween the culpability of those who
committed the fault of blind leader
ship and those who committed the
fault of accepting that loargrship
without sufficient challenge.” The
Worcester Telegram argues “if in the
<9Me of those minor officers circum
stances point almost entirely- to
‘complete exoneration’ the Navy needs
the men more than it needs their
drastic punishment." As Important
as the trial of the officers by court
martial may bo, the Newark News be
lieves “it is more necessary to find
out to what extent the defects dis
covered by the inquiry court run
through the Nary. It has little to
boast of in its sise, armament and
strength if negligence, bad Judgment,
inefficiency and lack of common sense
are among its- directing officers.”
was passed the total water power of
tho country amounted to 9.000.00*
horsepower. Since then licenses and
permits have been issued for new
projects amounting to 7,000,000 horse
power. There have been completed,
or put under construction, plants ag
gregating 2,500,000 horsepower. Ap
plications have been filed with the
Federal Power Commission totaling
21,500,000 horsepower.
Mr. O. C. Merrill, executive secre
tary of the Federal Power Commission,
prophesies that “It is only a matter
of time, and that not far distant,
when, through the natural expansion
of adjacent local groups of plants
and Itnes, we shall have In the east
ern United States a superpower sys
tem rivaling that of the Pacific
coast.”
** * *
The United States geological sur
vey finds potential hydroelectric
power yet to be developed amounting
to 27.943,000 minimum horsepower
and 53.905,000 maximum. The max
imum totals per region are New Eng
land, 1,605,000; middle Atlantic. 2.488,-
000; . east north central, J. 604.000:
west north central, 1,966,000; south
,At!untlc v . 4,257,000; east south central,
; 1,964.000: west south central, 822.000;
mountain. 16,131,000. and Pacific, 23,-
078.000. It Is notable that the total
of the Rocky mountain system and
the Pacific coast states amounts to
over 39,000.ft00 horsepower, out of the
grand total for nil the United States
of 53,906.000. What will the great
far west do with its opportunity
within the next ten or tweniy-flys
years?
*♦ * *
Water power is not going to dis
place steam power. It will save mil
lions of tons of coal, which should
cheapen the cost of that form of
fuel to all consumers. Not only will
It replace the coal In furnaces, but It
will save the cost of the coal used in
carrying coal from the mines to tho
point of consumption. But electricity
costs more in transmission than is
i generally understood —In the copper
required as conductor in long range.
In California, it is transmitted 250
miles, but at enormous cost for the
plant and the transmission wires.
Secretary Morrill says; "Many people
do not realize that when a hydro
electric plant Is erected, loss than
half the cost of the combined gen
erating. transmission and distributing
system has been Incurred. Still few
er people realize that from 70 to 90
I per cent of the costs of delivering the
j current to the resident consumer is
j Incurred after the power has left the
I generating station."
** * *
This last statement puts a damper
on the Kdison-Ford plan to burn
coal at the mouth of the mine and
create electricity to supply a radius
of hundreds of miles. To run such
enormous ’furnaces would require
rivers of water for condensing. There
iis one great furnace on the Ohio
J river, which literally runs tho whole
iOhlo river through Us steam con
j densers. How many locations are
j there where mine and river are in
Ibuch plose proximity?
' There have been many other sources
!of power tried out, but none has
proved practical for largfe plants One
system in experimental use has been
to trap the tides, in large reservoirs
and let them out at low tide, while
the trapped water was forced to ea
• cape through power-producing ma
chinery. The plan has not proved
practical, since twice a day it was
: out of ser\ ice—at low tide —and much
i of the rest of the day it was of small
| power.
t Sun power is a scientific plaything
with present means of capturing it.
Windmills are only for farmers and
very small units. The day may come
when wood alcohol can be safely
made on farms, from waste vegeta
tion. but not while the Suicide Club
Is so active, under the eighteenth
amendment.
(CopjrtKht, 1923, by Paul ▼. Colits*.)
• "The country will accept the report
as justice. It will expect that punish
ment be given to fit a guilt which as
tounded the nation." asserts the Mil
waukee Journal, “but what the coun
try does not yet understand and what
it is still deeply concerned in is the
curious breaking down of morale that
occurred on that fateful night. Just
what were the circumstances aboard
these ships which were dashing
through a blinding fog along a dan
gerous coast? And lias anything been
done to prevent a similar occurrence?"
Taking about the same velw, the Bal
timore Sun compares it with the legend
of the siren songs that lured ancient
voyagers to destruction on ancient
coasts, and feels that while “the
wrecking of the squadron and endan
gering so many lives were a great
material ''alamity. it was a greater
moral calamity that for some un
known reason the men to whom it
was intrusted should have been so
strangely lulled to sleen.” to which
tho Kalamazoo Gazette adds “the evi
dence points plainly to a carelessness I
and failure to take the most ordinary
precautions that approaches the crim
inal.” The Asheville Tiroes feels "the
(Public is convinced that there was
j culpable negligence somewhere which
sent tho destroyers recklessly racing
through the fog for a guessed-at port
—Joy riding to death."
*» * *
Regretting the tragedy of fine and
gallant officers who must go into
professional eclipse, the Philadelphia
Public Ledger declares "the Navy
Department must think of the whole
Navy; It cannot afford to shield and
exculpate individuals.” The Hartford
Times affirms the report, “so rea
soned and broad-minded, sets the
service In the right direction and re
pudiates. though in a dignified and
tolerant manner, > the claims of tra
ditions which would lead to stultifi
cation and decay.” The Brooklyn
Eagle also thinks the report "a les
son on the necessity of individual
Initiative and intelligence." The In
dianapolis News insists “the report
should be taken seriously to heart
by the naval officers as a warning
that men charged with the safety of
crews and the proper handling of
government property valued at many
millions of dollars can ill afford to
take chances.”
- “As a technical Judgment of sea
manship. involving no question of
moral culpability, this decision i*
likely to go unchallenged.” according
to the Springfield Republican. ‘There
are aspects of It involving Justice to
individual men which properly invite
questioning. The practice of follow
ing the leader could not have been
adopted voluntarily by the captains
for that particular cruise without
precedent, Is there not reason to
suppose that American destroyer
squadrons were habitually being nav
igated on this unsafe principle?"
The Bristol Herald-Courier sums
up the general opinion of editors that
"the American people are proud of
the courage and heroism displayed
by the men after the ships were
wrecked, but the disaster itself was
discreditable to the Navy, and the
officers responsible for it earned the
sweeping condemnation of their con
duct.” •
The Library Table
BY THE BOOK.LOVER
Social problem* seem to be crowd
ing each other in the brain of Sheila-
Kaye-Smith. since she has mixed two
weighty ones in about equal propor
tions in her last novel, ‘The End of
the House of Alard.” As the title in
dicates, the problem which Is prob
ably foremost is the dying condition
of the great English estates from
the double disease of accrued mort
gages and heavy post-war taxation.
The Alard estate is so heavily mort
gaged that old Sir John Alard can
barely scrape together enough annu
ally to pay the Interest. He goads
his sons and daughters to make rich
marriages in order to save the estate,
but rioh husbands and wives are not
always forthcoming, and when they are
the marriages are not always successful.
Gervase and Jenny, the youngeat son
and daughter, refuse to sacrifice them
selves to the family and so achieve hap
piness, each in a different way. The
final catastrophe for the family is reach
ed when it becomes certain that there '
Will bo no next generation of Alards
and that the Alard estate be
sold. Gervase pronounces the doom
of the estate;
"The family's taken enough. For
500 years it has sat on the land, and
at first it did good—it cared for the
poor, it worked its farms to the best
advantage., and the estate prospered.
But It’s outlived those days—it’s only
aq incumbrance now; it’s holding
back the land from proper develop
ment; It’s keeping the yeoman and
email land owner out of their rights;
it can’t afford to care for the poor.
It can barely keep ita ho!d on the
land by dint of raising mortgages and
marrying for money. It can only be
kept up by continual sacrifices—of
the land, of the tenants, of its own
children. It’s like a wicked old dying
god. that can only bo kept alive by
sacrifices —human sacrifices. And. I
tell you, it shan't be any more.”
** ♦ ♦
The other problem of the book is
religious. Mins Kaye-Smith tries to
demonstrate that in English Ca
tholicism (or Puseyism, as Sir John
called It) is to be found the mode-n
religion suited to the new democratic
world. Gervase gives his conception
of it;
"Catholio Christianity stands fast
because it belongs to an order of
things which doesn’t change. It’s
made of the same stuff as our hearts.
It’s the supernatural satisfaction of
all our natural instincts. • • • The
parson and the squire will go and
their places will be taken by the
yeoman and the- priest who were
there before them. • • • it'll be a
democracy which will have the best
of aristocracy kept alive in it.”
♦♦ ♦ *
The importance of juvenile reading
is being stressed by the annual ob
servance of Children's Book week. For
the fifth successive year booksellers,
public libraries, schools, women's
clubs, parent-tear her associations,
churches and other organizations
have Increased the Interest In chil
dren’s books all the year round by
focusing attention on the subject for
one week. This year's campaign I
falls in the week of November 11-17. i
Since the readers of children's books
today will become the readers of
grown-up books tomorrow, the Book
lover welcomes this movement. In
view of the many poor and weak
books published for children and the
lack of discrimination of well inten
tioned parents In making selections
of books for their children, he would
like ’to amend the slogan adopted for 1
Children’s Book week, "More Books |
in the Home!” so that it would read; ,
“More and Better Books in the
Home!” Os course, we do not wish
our children to read books by the I
yard or the cord, nor to make their
minds sieves through which to pour
a vast quantity of poor stuff. There
are plenty of good books for chil
dren. if only they can be weeded
out from the even more abundant
worthless rubbish.
♦* * ♦
Wallace Irwin's new novel, "Lew
TyleFs Wives,” is considered by some
critics his "most serious effort.” It
is a real life story based on the clash
of differing personalities in their
dally relations. Lew Tyler is a
handsome, charming Californian, with
more attractive wirfaoe qualities than
soundness of character. His first
wife. Jessie, is old fashioned in her
devotion and trustfulness and is dis
illusioned but slowly. His second
wife, Virginia, la young and frivo
lous, and we do not know how well
Lew gets on with her, because the
story ends when they have been mar
ried only a short time. Mr. Irwin,
indicates Ms belief, however, that if
their life-is not altogether a failure
It will be because of the character
training which Lew has received In
his life with Jessie.
♦* ♦ ♦
The life of devotion to incurable
and impoverished cancer patients
which Rose Hawthorne Laxhrop
(Mother Alphonaa) has led for nearly
thirty years Is described by Maurice
Francis Egan in a prelude to a new
edition of the "Memories of Haw
thorne.” by Mrs. Lathrop. It was the
deep sympathy of her father for hu
| man suffering, and especially certain
passages of his essay, “Our Old I
Home,” that suggested to Mrs. La- j
throp, who afterward as a sister of ;
charity became Mother Alphonsa, the j
foundation of her charity for "the j
relief of incurable CB.noer.’’ She be- 1
gan her work in 1596 on the lower j
East Side in New York city. The |
present sanitariums of the charity •
are at 71 Jackson street. New York,
and the Rosary Hill Home, at Haw
thorne, near White Plains. The re
quirements for admission are that
patients must be incurable and abso
lutely without money to pay for care.
The charity is known as "The Serv
ants of Belief for Incurable Cancer.”
Dr. Egan says; “There is a touch of
human warmth in the formal report J
that tells of the marvelous growth of
this work, and even of righteous in
dignation, where Mother Alphonsa
declares that there shall be no for
bidding aspect in the hospital
rooms. As for experiments on the
Incurable patlenta, she will have
none of them* while any exhibition
of aversion in the presence of a pa
tient is anathema. The sisters, she
says, are truly happy in their work,
and she will have no wearing of rub
ber gloves that may suggest disgust
or fear.”
♦♦ * *
Zona Gale's novel, “Faint Perfume,”
is to be published in revised Braille
typo for the blind. It is Interesting
in reading Miss Gale’s novel to no
tice how largely she speaks in terms
of the senses other than sight. Sounds
and odors play a major port In her
descriptions. Even her heroine one
finds is never directly described as
she physically appears. In fact, one
of the book's greatest charms is the
fact that the Impressions it conveys
are built up In such fashion as this:
“Lsda smelled the odor of home, odor
like clean woolen. The hall clock
with Incredible solemnity uttered a
wrong hour. Her father in his study
below tapped the fender with the
tongs.” The very atmosphere of a
scene Is wafted to one as one senses
the odors and receives the sounds
that are its living qualities.
** * *
In the new edition of the Encyclo
pedia Brltannlca it is Interesting to
observe the estimate of relative so
cial and political values. Charley
Chaplin Is given the same number of
lines as Lord Derby, Douglas Fair
banks, twice as man lines as Lord
Peel, and Mary Plekford only two
fewer lines than Lord Cave.
f ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC /. HASKIN
Q. How ia the value of a pari mirtuel
tlclAt determined? —W. A. W.
A. If in a race the wagers on all the
horsee total 510.000 and of this sum
s2,ooo—the equivalent of 1,000 $2
tickets—was wagered on the winner,
the value of a $2 ticket would be de
termined by deducting from SIO,OOO the
5 per cent commission for the asso
ciation, or SSOO, and dividing the re
mainder by 1,000, which gives $9.50.
Q. Is it true that the United States
consumes more opium than China? —E.
J. M.
A. Recent statistics rtiow that the
United States consumes 36 grains of
opium per capita, in comparison with
India, 27 grains; Prance, i ; Kngiand,
3 ; Germany, 2; China, 2. and Italy, 1.
Q. Can you toll me whether drinking
water was brought from Kngiand for
Papyrus?—R. J. H.
A. The English race horse drank the
water of this country, but the hay he
ate was brought from England.
Q. Is the Jelly fish of any com
mercial use?—B. G.
A. The bureau of fisheries says that
the Jelly fish haa no commercial value.
Q. Was Alexander Hamilton’s son
killed in a duel?—C. P.
A. Philip Hamilton, the son of Alex
ander Hamilton, fell on November 23,
1801, at the same place where, three
years later the elder Hamilton met his
death. Philip Hamilton fought a duel
with George Eacker. following a dispute
over a political matter.
Q. Please give roe some Information
on the picture "The Blue Boy" by ;
Gainsborough.—F. A. B.
A. Jonathan Eutthel, the son of ja
wealthy Ironmonger of London, was
the original of the “Blue Boy” por
trait by Gainsl>orougn. There is a
tradition that the artist painted the
canvas In defiance of a rule laid down
by Sir Joshua Reynolds, who held
that the color used In the "Blue Boy"
could not be used to produce an ar
tistic effect.
Q. From what is ermine fur de
rived?—K. G.
A. The ermine, or while weasel, is
the smallest of the fur-bearers found 1
In North America. The finest ermine [
fur comes from P.ussia and Siberia, j
In winter the animal is snow white ex
cept for a black tip on the end of the
tail. In summer it turns brown, and
the brown fur is. for this reason,
known on the market as “summer
ermine.”
Q. How do ships obtain bearings
from radio stations? —W. M. H.
A. The radio division of the Depart
ment of Commerce saye that this may i
be done in two ways. Radio compass
I stations are maintained by the Navy ;
Department at various points along
the coast, and ships in the locality of
these stations signal to them asking
for bearings. On the other hand, there j
may be directional receiving appara
tus aboard ship, and thte apparatus
can get bearings from any coast sta
tion of which It knows the call letters.
Q. What is a smoke consumer?
W'here m It used and under what con
ditions? —A. T.
A, A smoke consumer is a device for
saving fuel which otherwise would
escape In smoke. It turns back the
fuel by separating it from the gas.
I Thousands of tons of coal are wasted
by escaping in the form of
j smoke. Smoke consumers are used
■ ■■■■» ——
Proof Is Cited That Baldwin
Foresees Long Premier Term
j BY THE SIABOI’ISE DE FOSTESOY.
( Premier Stanley Baldwin’s sale last
week of his beautiful town house,
93 Eaton square, upon which he, and
especially Mra. Baldwin, have spent
so much money and care, must be
taken as an indication that they look
forward to quite a prolonged tenure
of If) Downing street, once the home
of the Harvard graduate, Sir George
Downing, and which, for some two
centauries or more, has been the ofli
cial residence of the prime ministers
of the British empire. Stanley Bald
win is there to stay, despite the an
ticipations of Lloyd George of an
early return to the historic premises.
The names of Devereux and de
Eohun figure so largely In the- his
tory of England, notably in connec
tion with the reign of Queen Eliza
beth and the regime of Oliver Crom
] well, that the announcement that St.
Margarets, Westminister, the parish
church of the two houses of parlia
ment, is to be the scene December 5
next of the marriage between Rob
ert Godfrey de Bohun Devereux. lieu
tenant of the. Welsh Guards, and Miss
Audrey Meakln, daughter of the
Countess of Sondes and niece of Lady
Cayzer, is calculated to arouse at
tention. for the young guardsman,
who received his training at Eton, is
the grandson and heir presumptive
of the octogenarian Lord Hereford,
sixteenth peer of his line and. like
wise, premier viscount of England.
♦♦ * *
Although the old gentleman suc
ceeded to tho family honors close
upon seventy years ago, he has, by
i reason of mental affliction, been under
(restraint and in' seclusion for close
I upon haJf a century and has only
once, during all that period, been
seen for a few moments in the house
iof lords, when ho was brought 'Jo
.'town by his medical attendants and
j keepers from his country place, Ash
wood Hall, near Ludlow—where he
has been confined—in order to cast
his vote as an hereditary legislator
against the Gladstone Irish homo
rule bill on the occasion of Its de
feat by the house of lords. For.
whereas mental affliction invalidates
j a vote in the house of commons,
there is nothing to prevent a peer
who is bereft of his reason from
the exercise of his constitutional
right, even though the fortune and
the.fate of the entire ruling British
empire, with Its 400,000,000 people
es every race and hue and creed may
depend on that one particular vote.
Old Lord Hereford Is the son of a
clergyman, and his eldest son and
heir —that is to aay. the father of the
young guardsman who is to be mar
ried to Lady Sondes' daughter at St.
Margaret’s. Westminster, next month
—is a chairman of quarter sessions
and county magnate In Brecknock
shire, where he has a county seat
known as Tregoyd.
The Dovereuxs. who hail from Nor
mandy. have held lands in England
ever since the reign of William the
Conqueror. Sir Walter Devereux
was chancellor of Ireland In 1449 and
supported the house of York in the
wars of the roses. Walter Dever
eux was created first Viscount Here
ford by King Henry VIII In 1550 for
his services In the FVench wars and
he was succeeded by his grandson as
second viscount and by the latter’s
son, the third viscount. The latter,
as Earl of Essex, was the ill-fated
favorite of Queen Elizabeth, who,
after raising him to the highest hon
ers—namely, to the dignities of earl
marshal of the realm and of viceroy
of Ireland—turned against him and
caused him to be beheaded as a
traitor, not to the state or to the
nation, but to her senile love, in
1601. His son, by the widow of Sir
Philip Sidney, who succeeded as
fourth Viscount Hereford, fought,
first of all. under the flag of Charles
I. but afterward deserted his cause
and became a general In the army
of Oliver Cromwell. From that time
forth the viscounty of Hereford, which
must not be confounded with the Sey
mour marquisate of Hereford, has con
tinued to the present day.
♦♦ ♦ *
As for the future Viscount Here
ford's bride, she made her debut
principally In factories and are a
means of financial saving to these
plants.
Q. Who said, “Thera never was a
good war or a bad peace?"—G. W. B.
A. This statement appears in a
letter written by Benjamin Franklin
to Joslah Quincy on September 11. 1773.
Q. What is laminated wood?—E. B.
A. Laminated wood is a block con' -
posed of thin sheets of wood glued
together. It may be used in the same
way as clear timber. This is a process
developed by the forest products labo
ratory in Madison, Wis., as a conserva •
lion measure.
Q. Does It say in the Bible that
Christ was bom in a manger?—M. <:
A. In the second chapter of Luke,
verses 7 and 12, King James’ version,
are found two references to the fact
that the Infant Jesus was laid in tb«.
manger by His Mother. Mary. Tins
is sometimes construed as meaning
that the birth of Christ actually oc
curred in the manger.
Q.‘ What is a Manhattan sandwich?
—A. W.
A. A New York chef says that a
Manhattan sandwich has a filling of
fried eggs, minced ham and onion.
Q. Can government land bo ob
tained in South America? —V. I-. N.
A. The Pan-American Union says
that there are no homestead lands in
South America, but land is sold very
cheaply there.
Q. Is our system of weights and
measures the same as that used in
England?—H. H. E.
A. The prevalent idea that those
in common use here are identical
with the British imperial system is
erroneous. For example, the United
States yard is slightly longer than
the imperial yard, and this inequality
extends to all its subdivisions and mul
tiples.
Q. What is a Joshua tree? —H
K. N.
A. The forestry service says th.ii
this is a desert tree, which grows in
California, Arizona and New Mexico.
It has light, soft, spongy wood, and i-.
used for boxing and wrapping ma-
I terial.
j Q. What is the origin of the Keltic
cross? —H. A S.
A. Keltic crosses are such as were
found on the Blessed Isle, one of the
Hebrides group known as lona. Some
authorities believe that the circular
symbol, which appears at the con
nection of the upright beam and the
cross beam, is the sign of the sun.
Q. Please give e.xamples of wordv
j in which the letter w is used as a
I vowel—H. J. McC.
A. .In words where w forms the
! second element of a dipthor.g, as in
few and how, v is a vowel.
Q. What part of the United States
| had more volunteers than its quota
! in the draft for the war?—J. E. G.
A. Hawaii had the only troops that
were so much over 100 per cent that
j it was necessary to draw men in the
first draft. These troops volunteered
j to a percentage of 182.
■ ’ (// pent have a question, you i ccu^t
j answered send it to The Star In
i formation Bureau, Frederic J. Bat
kin. director, U2O North Capitol
I street. The only charge for this
j service is 2 cents in stamps for re
. I turn postage. )
. about two years ago. She is tho
daughter of Lady Sondes by her first
and enormously rich husband. James
Meakln, and so the young lady may
be expected to hrnig her husband a
very handsome dowry.
So very numerous and socially
powerful in England Is the original
German banking house of Baring,
’ now represented in the house of lord-*
• by Lord Revelsloke, the Earl of
, Cromer; Lord Ashburton and by the
Earl of Xorthbrooke. that the two
r half-American daughters of the Hon.
■ Cecil Baring. Daphne and Calypso
Baring, who are making their debut
in London this winter, or rather, I
should say. in the spring, are cer
tain to have a first-class time and
i• to have many entertainments given
In their honor by relatives and
(friends. Their mother was the lato
' j Maude Lorillard. daughter of the lato
i Pierre Lorillard. founder of Tuxedo,
celebrated for his tobacco factories
! and for his racing stable. Her first
j marriage with T. Suffern Tailer was
i sundered by divorce and then she
I married Cecil Baring, who. at the
time, was representing Ift New York
■ the interests of the great interna-
I tional London banking house of Bar-
I ing,'’ of which Lord Revelsloke is
the chief. As Lord Revelsloke is
t unmarried, his brother, Cecil, .will
1 1 succeed to the Revelsloke peerage
■ and estates and will in turn he foi
-1 lowed by his own Son, Rupert Baring.
I now a boy of twelve.
♦* * *
| Daphne and Calypso Baring, the one
i nineteen years old and the other
j eighteen, have been very quietly
brought up. finishing their education
in Paris. Much, if not most, of the
married life of their mother, the for
-1 mer Maude Lorillard—a remarkably
pretty woman—was spent with her
’ children at her beautiful island homo
• in Dublin bay. known as Lambay
’ Island, a perfectly ideal retreat and
1 which had beep fitted up and ar
; ranged entirely regardless of expense
1 by her husband and by herself The
• two girls are to be brought out under
the chaperonage of their aunt, tho
1 Countess of Kenmare and Lady
■ Evelyn Baring; the latter the widow
h of Lord Magheramome when she mar
• ried in 1905, the Hon. Hugo Baring
’ of the 4th Huzzars, now a partner
i In the London firm of Baring, but
1 who spent the first five years of hia
’ married life in New York, in charge
I of the interests of the firm, and where
1 Lady Evelyn’s daughter by her first
1 husband, the Hon. Norah Hogg, made
r her debut in society.
Norah Hogg is now the wife of Capl.
L Julian Groves of the Grenadier Guards,
I who won the Distinguished Service
. Order in the great war. Mrs. Cecil
Baring, who had a town house In
Bryanston square, died last year, and
| It was the fact that they were in
, mourning for their mother that has
delayed the debut of her two girls,
. who have inherited much of her beau
ty and who will, each, when they
marry', be well dowered, since their
I mother left a very large fortune of
Ixtrillard origin, while their father.
. Cecil Baring, is a very clever business
i man and rich.
i■■ » ■
• Student Mechanics
| Need an Automobile
To the kditor of The Star:
i An unfortpnate condition prevails
, In Eastern High School. There aro
about fifty boys in the auto mechanic
■ class and they have no auto on which
1 to work. There is no appropriation
| available to purchase one and so
[ these boys are partly wasting their
time. I thipk there are many people
| in this city who would donate the
i use of a second-hand machine if they
| knew that such a condition existed.
’ If you could see your way clear to
i make this fact known to the city
• you would have the gratitude of the
people of Eaat Washington and es
pecially of the boys who are trying
to learn something about automo
biles with only blackboard llluatra
l turns. D. A. EDWARDS.