Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-03
NINE. D'ANGELY CASE
London Society Stirred Over
French Woman's Arrest.
INQUIRY OVER THE STREETS
Comment Over Walter Wellman's
Arctic Venture.
UNFORTUNATE SPECULATIONS
How the Stock Game Was Made tn
Play in With the Society II

LONDON, May 10, 1906.
The great interest taken by members of
parliament In the case of Madame DAN
gely the French woman who was arrested
In Regent street late at night in an unfor-
tunate mistake) was very evident, even in
the outer Hobbies of the house of commons
yesterday. There was an unusually lafke
crowd of country constituents in search of
tickets for the galleries, and as the day was
warm and fine there was the first rush of
the year of ladies anxious to enjoy the de-
lights of tea on the terrace but members
were too excited by the case to pay their
usual attention to constituents and their
wives.
nouncement of a royal commission, for it
is at last certain that the scandal of the
streets of the west end will now receive
careful consideration and proper investiga-
tion' instead of studied neglect and phari-
saical contentment
But although there was satisfaction that
the government had determined upon gem
eral inquiry into the state of the streets, 1t
was felt that this decision was no repara-
ton to Madame dAngely.
That Madame dAngely should be forced
In order to prove her innocence to appear
before commission, which has been APP
pointed to devise a means of sweeping out
the Augean stables of Regent street, is
she viii be obliged to wait a considerable
time before she can Justify herself, and even
tnen she will have no power to proceed
against the policeman who arrested her or
the magistrate who dismissed the charges
brought against her. The case has been
dismissed, and Madame d'AngeIy cannot
appeal to a higher court.
II may be remembered that the Miss CaSs
case of seventeen years ago, which affords
perhaps some analogy to the present,
severely shook the government, which at
hrst refused to investigate it. The govern
ment would therefore be well advised to
make prompt inquiry into Madame
d Angely's complaints and not to conffne
the Issue with the investigations of royal
street.
The opposition, of course, have swooped
down like vultures on the case of Madame
dAngeiy. More than that, society is full
OF 1t. In every drawing room there Is a
buzz over the matter. 1t is not too much to
say that no continental capital would toler-
ate such public Haunting of~immoralty as
can be witnessed not only at night, but In
broad daylight, In several of London's prin-
cipal thoroughfares. If the proposed royal
commission really cleanses the streets 1t
will do much good. No one imagines that
vice can be stamped out, but II need not
be thrust into the face of pure women as
is now the case. Lord ELECTROMAGNETIC was
an experienced reprobate-once said that
the risks which innocent girl incurred
were such as no feminine sinner would
dream of running
1t is feared that the government has
made a mess of the case by not offering a
frank apology to the victim of the police
mistake. The lobby of the house literally
rings with the name of Madame d'Angely.
Next to Mr.. Winston Churchill, Mr. Herbert
Gladstone is the member of the government
whose manner is least to the taste of all
parties, and as he seems to be as irritable
as Mr.. Arnold-Forster and as susceptible
as Mr. Broderick, there will probably be
many willful attempts to bait him In the
n the Sir Henry
Ter is owed the political adage that "the
best way to shelve an awkward topic Is to
let a royal commission deal with it." The
outcome of the whole thing Will be Vigor-
Gus effort to get the police under the con-
troll of the London county council.
There Is every disposition, I find, in geo.
graphical circles to recognize the serious
character of the enterprise which Is being
undertaken by Mr.. Walter Wellman, who
proposes to attempt to reach the north
pole in an airship. Mr.. Welman has been
in London during the past week consulting
authorities and busying himself with
thousand and one matters connected with
the organization of his expedition. The air
ship which is beinb built for him in Paris
Is reported to be nearing completion, and a
start will very shortly be made for SpitZ-
bergen, whence, eventually, the final flight
to the north pole will be attempted.
1t may be hoped that the choice OF
starting place Is not a tragic omen, put II
is impossible to forget that 1t was from
Spitzbergen that Andre sailed In his balloon
into the unknown northern solitudes In
1897, never to be seen again from that day
until this. Mr.. Wellman intends to carry
out an elaborate series of experimental
trips before starting for the north pole, with
a view to testing the capabilities OF his air
ship and motor sledges under arctic condi-
tons. If the results are not considered sat
isfactory this season he is prepared to delay
his final fight until next year, and If fur
ther experiment should then seem desirable
he will even wait till the summer of 1908.
Geographers of course have no complaint
against the spirit of thoroughness which
characterizes Mr.. Wellman's preparations
for his expedition, but they are inclined TO
doubt the wisdom of making the attempt
at ALL DR.. Andre was no mad-brained en-
thusast, but man of scientific education,
who argued in favor of his project with
such plausibility as almost to convince his
friends that the success of his experiment
was assured. Yet he had TO pay the penalty
of his daring with his life. No doubt great
advances have been made in the science of
aerial navigation since 1897, but the jour-
neys which have hitherto been made in
airships scarcely seem to warrant an at
tempt to cover by that means of iocomo-
ton distance of 700 miles over the polar
ocean and the addition of motor sedgeS
TO the equipment of Mr.. Wellman's airship
can hardly be considered other than a
very slender safeguard against disaster.
~
There is no need to minimize the stories
which are being told of bad times on the
London stock exchange and the retirement
of many members. The stories are true.
and yet they true in way which pre-
vents them to some extent from being de-
plorable But generally. and therefore with
the reservations that any general statement
needs, what has happened Is collapse of
speculation from outside. One supposes
that this must mean really healthier times,
though that can hardly be the prominent
feeling when the way thither is painful.
But one might say still speaking generally,
that the use of the stock markets as a
gambling ground by people who did moth