Evening star., 1923-07-26
CAPITAL KEYNOTES
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS

The dignity of the Senate must and
shall be preserved. Not from Its sa-
cred precincts shall the amplifer and
the radio send broadcast the wisdom
of a Magnus nor the chaste classics
OF Lodge. Yes, there will be no ra-
dio from the upper chamber of Con-
gress, howsoever may the less reserved
orators of the House scatter their
tropes and climaXes. SMILES and quo
tations from Chauser to Kipling.
This decision comes after the cleo
ton Of the glassblower from the
stumps of Minnesota to the seat OF
senatorial Aristotles and gives rise to
the suspicion that too much of the
oratory Of the Senate would be played
to the galleries-not of the Senate
chamber itself but of the distant
states of constituents. The Senate Is
a deliberative body. There Is debate.
but precious little oratory. Sound
and fury is neither eloquence nor
| wisdom. and the work of electricity
| in carrying the noise abroad would
not add to the wise decisions. how
ever much 1t added to the gayety OF
the nations. AS well supply the Su-
preme Court with q long-distance ra-
dio.
4 s'# u
| Coal costs about the same this year
as last. Yet in June, 1922, the United
States exported oply 40,2S4 tons OF
anthracite, and in June, this year
4lS,594 tons. In the twelve months
ended June. 1922. the anthracite ex-
ports amounted to 2.992,385 tons, and
\ al I,Yp
1928. 3.77S.714 tons.
| The exports are made at wholesale, OF
mine prices, while the price to con-
1 sumers seems TO have little relation to
mine prices, according to the verdict OF
| the Coal Consumers League of Wash
ington. Mine prices appear low enough
| this last June to induce the world &c
| come to America for ten times as much
anthracite as last year. The world
4 takes also four times as much OF ouI
! bituminous coal and twice as much OF
! our coke this June as II did in June
| 1922. Evidently our mines are produc-
| ing more than they did year ago, but
\ American consumers are not proflting
| thereby.
Adjutant General Davis OF the Army
/
recruits within this fiscal year. Fifty
thousand enlisted soldiers will leave
the Army January /.
| The authorized strength OF the Army
| is 5000, but the present actual
| strength Is 10000. With a turnover OF
! "A 900 out OF n total of 10000. there
| will be considerable training necessary
The pay of an enlisted man is S22 d
month. plus board and clothes. In these
| days of wages in civil life, for ordinary
mechanics, ranging from SO to SIS a
| day, and for special trades AS high as
| S24 a day, II will be interesting to note
! the rush OF desirable recruits TO the
! Army. in time Of peace. where they will
! receive about two days pay every
| month.
Gen. Davis says it is not difficult &c
| get recruits for foreign service-the
spirit of roaming accounts for that-but
Excepting the home army filed up is a
problem"
/ Congress. in its wisdom. economical
| on the pay of the Army, after the war
so far as enlisted men are concerned
although the adjustment of pay of Off
! GERS was less severe. During the war
| enlisted men received $50. plus 10 pei
! cent for foreign service. This was re-
4 duced after the war to $50, regardless
of the increasing wages in private life.
| Through the invitation of the Depart
ment Of Commerce, q conference Of rep.
resentative retail merchants has been
held in Washington this month to con-
| slider problems Of mercantile distribu-
| ton.
| There has been SO much comment on
the alleged superfiuity of so-called
| "middlemen" that IL is interesting to
| consider the other side of the problem
| of distribution of all kinds of goods
from factory or field to the ultimate
consumer, and weigh the actual service
rendered by the middleman or mer-
! chants.
| The first step in clearly stating a
| proposition is to fix upon definitions
/ The first act of the retailers conference
was to adopt a definition formulated
recently by the joint commission o.