Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-04-15

The urgent and sudden call for Leading
American surgeons to sail for France on
Presidents Wilson's ship, the George Wash
ington, has caused some speculation ana
slight feeling of concerning in some quarters
in view of the fact that both President VIII
son and Mr.. House have been i'll in Paris. AL
though the dispatches from France nave
given no indication that either are suHerlng
from any ailment that might demand the at
tentions of surgeon, the sudden order for
DR.. j. Chalmers da Costa, chief surgeon at
the Jefferson hospital in Philadelphia, and
Samuel d. Gross, professor of surgery in JEFF
ferson Medical college, one of the foremost
surgeons in the country, to sail at once for
Europe has caused some comment. The order
came as a complete surprise and with star
Ting suddenness to the hospital staff, and the
surgeons themselves said that they were COM
pletely in the dark as to the reason OF their
going Whether or not the order for the
speeding up of Wilson's ship and call for sur
geons to hurry at once to France have any
| connection with each other is the question
that has arisen in the minds of some since
the George Washington left port with the
two surgeons on board.
Royalty has learned few wholesome les
sons in this course of the past few years and
responsible for ugly and insanitary housing
conditions among their subjects. At least
that is the way Queen Mary of England views
it, for following unofficial and unannounced
visits to the London slums, she has summon
ed the leading British housing and health au-
thorities to discuss and draw up plans for
immediate betterment of living conditions for
workers. Queen Mary's visits to 'slumland
this year were not the first she has made but
heretofore the visits have been carefully stage
| ocrnH and no w INF
| everything Wanting some first hand In
| formation, the queen recently paid few sur
| prise visits to the slumS, and was so thorough
| ly shocked and indignant at conditions that
| she has started a reform movement headed by
herself, King George and the whole royal fam
| lily, the king even delivering an address of
welcome to the delegates to "the housing dur
| bar as the conference is being called in Lon
| don.
No complete explanation has yet been given
| as to why the cable message giving directions
| for the presidents ship to be sent back to
| France was held up in London for two days.
| The only excuse given as that for some un-
| ccountable reason" the message was delayed
| The fact of the delay was discovered when
| the American mission in Paris made an in
| vestigation of the matter following the print
| ing in Paris of the statement from Washing
| ton that the George Washington had not been
| ordered back to France. Later it was an
|
| of the message was due to an error in the
| American naval communications Office in
! London, but nothing further has been heard
| of the matter.
The serious situation in which Belgium
| finds itself was made clear by the Belgian
! Minister of Justice, NJ Vandervelde, in a re-
| cent interview in a Partisan newspaper. He
| declared that Belgium must have complete
| reparation from Germany if there is to be
any INN in ho mi
| He says that the number of the unemployed
| in Belgium now is about 100000 and that the
/ number of persons to whom the government
| is giving aid is 900. In Brussels where
| the normal number of workmen is 100 900
only 26, 600 are employed at present, and, to
add to the difficulties, the cost of living is
very high and the stock stolen by the Ger
mans has not been returned.
Steps have already been taken by the gov
eminent towards carrying out the proposed
aerial mail service in this country the post
| Office department having issued specifica-
tions for muIti-motored airplanes of the COM
mercial type adapted to carrying mail. Bids
for the planes will be opened July 2. The
| department has not yet determined the num-
| Der to be built. Consideration will be given,
! it is said, to plane which carry mini
mum of 1900 pounds Of mail. cruising
| speed of between 80 and 100 miles an hour
| will be required with maximum speed of be-
| dius of about six hours.
| The French High commission, appointed
| to transact the war business OF France in
| this country, has been dissolved; and Andre
| Tardiea. the French high commissioner, has
| already gone to Paris. He will sit as one of
Frances delegates at the peace table. In
stead of the high commission various group
| organizations, to be known the Direction
| Generate DIES Services. Francois Aux Etats-
| Unis, will conduct French affairs in this
country hereafter, Jean-Maurice Casenave,
| recently French minister to Brazil being the
| head of the new service. He has already ar
rived from Rio Janeiro and has entered
| upon his new duties.
| A miniature army, with every branch of
| the service represented, has been sent by
| Great Britain to the Archangel front in Rus
STA, the first relief force being made up Of
veteran troops who fought in various battles
| of the war.
Train and engine men on national rail-
way lines have been granted another in
crease in wages by Director General Hines.
| The order affects more than 100000 men,
and the increases are retroactive to jan
| uary l.
Company I, of the Three Hundred and
| Twenty ninth infantry, has been identified
| by General March S the unit which re-
Gently refused to return to the front line
| trench in the Archangel sector when ordered
to do so by it's officers. Bolsheviki propo-
ganda is credited as the cause of the in
| subordination.
Miss S. Cheng, Chinese woman who has
| been condemned to death three times, though
| only tWenty-three years of age, is now in
| Paris to attend the peace conference. She