The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-08-25
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC j. HAsKIN, Director.
Washington, D. @.
HOUSING OUR FOREIGN GUESTS.


vanguard of the delegates to the world
disarmament conference to be held in
Washington in November will begin
to pour into the city at least six weeks
in advance of the opening of this mo-
mentous congress and the state de-
partment is beginning to find itself
somewhat in the position of a hostess
trying to give a large party in a small
house. The number of visitors will
increase steadily until the opening day
of the conference. November II, and
every one coming here will remain all
winter if the official guesses as to
the length of the parleys prove good
ones.
| Washington, unlike other great cap
itals of the world, is not the metropo-
lis as well as the political center of
the country. London Paris, Berlin.
Rome, Tokyo. and every other capital
city of importance in the world, is also
the largest city of it's nation. Paris
had no great difficulty in assinilating
the huge delegations which poured
into it at the time of the peace con-
ference. The case of washington is
different.
There is discussion now of world
financial conference in Washington at
the same time that the disarmament
parleys are under way. The two ques-
tons are SO woven together that limi-
tation of ornaments cannot well be
considered apart from international
finances and trade. AS matter of
fact, it is doubtful if the disarmament
congress would have a fair chance of
success, or would have been held, I'M
| less the worlds great nations were in
! debt. their people supporting an al
most crushing burden of taxation
which the limiting of army and navy
expenditures will tighten materially.
These two great meetings will bring
to Washington approximately 10000
people who ordinarily would not be
here. Washington again will be
pushed hard for places to house all
| Of the people who must make this city
| their home for an indefinite period,
as it was during the war and for many
months thereafter.
The state department is at work
| now surveying the situation from all
! angles. The embassies of the military
and naval powers have been asked to
| lind out from their governments ex-
| actly how many will be included in
| their delegations. and the Indications
are that the smallest delegation from
any of the more important nations
| Will number at least a hundred. Great
| Britain is understood to have asked
that two hotels be provided to take
| care of its delegates Japan is ex-
pected to notify the state department
that its delegates and their experts.
assistants, clerks, stenographers and
| the like will number between 200 and
| 300. In addition to the representa-
tives of England, France, Italy and
| Japan, almost every other country in
the world whether a military or ma
val factor or not, is expected to have
a delegation of official observers at
| the conference.
Hordes of News Men.
| In addition to the huge official del
egations, there will be hundreds of
newspaper correspondents from all
over the world who will cover the
parleys until the sessions end, and I'M
| officially the state department will
| take a hand to see that these men are
| comfortably housed. While the state
| department has nothing to do with
J American visitors coming to Washing
| ton, 1t is certain that thousands
will visit the already crowded city
| each week thruout the winter.
| To cope with the situation, COM
m1ttees are being organized now in
| the state department, each charged
with a specific part of the work of
taking care of the army of official
visitors. An official information bu-
| reau must be formed so that the thou
sand and one questions asked by
strangers of other nationalities can be
answered quickly. The library of con-
gress, the greatest institution of its
kind in the world, will be utilized by
the foreign delegates a great deal, and
| their Investigations must be helped
as far as possible by the American
government in its capacity as official
| host.
Another problem on which work
has started is finding sufficient Of
| flee space for the delegations. A
survey of the building situation is I'M
der way, and inquiries have been
started to see what facilities of this
| kind each delegation desires. This
problem is not an easy one to solve,
| as Washington is not a great business
| CITY, shaving relatively few office build
| ings. Moreover, what space is avail
able here is nearly all occupied, and it
is likely to be as difficult a task to
get office room as to provide living
quarters.
The actual delegates and their suites
will be met by representatives of the
cate department at the seaports at
| which they enter the country, and
brought to Washington as guests of
the government, probably by special
trains. After being conducted to the
quarters arranged for them by the
joint efforts of their embassies and
remainder of their stay in Washington
be their own hosts as far as paying
| expenses is concerned.
Assembly Hall Problem.
l. Another angle of the situation
which is causing a great deal of trou-
BILE is the. obtaining of a proper hall
:, in which the public sessions may be
held. Washington is not provided
with any large hall sufficiently mod
| ern to handle open sessions of con-
ference as dignified and important as
the disarmament discussions. The
suggestion that a theater be used was
brought forward, but was rejected
promptly because the delegates might
appear to be performers and might
be made little ridiculous by such
proceeding.
/ Altho the principal conferences will
be open, the everyday. unofficial ctti-
zen will not have a chance of hearing
word of the discussion on account
of this lack of a large modern hall
with good acoustic properties Sew
eral meeting places are under consid-