Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-12-28

stmns boxes containing candy, fruits,
hey are, left to right; Thelma Fields,
Mary Hnrrell and Sarah CasteIi.
withdrawing of her troops from Co.
logne by January 10, which Is provid-
I'd for under the Versailles treaty.
The delay is understood to have re-
suited from reports that Germany is
persistently arming, contrary to
other provisions of the same treaty.
Germany, on the other hand, denies
that she has failed to abide by the
treaty's requirements regarding dis
armament.
In one of the picturesque and col
orful rituals of the Roman Catholic
Church the holy door of ST. Peters
cathredal in Rome was opened last
week after remaining sealed for %
years. The ceremony is repeated at
quarter century intervals and marks
the beginning of a year of pilgrimage,
when more than one million Catholics
come to Rome to seek inspiration. The
Pope officiated at the ceremony.
Two tragedies marred Christmas
day.
In little Oklahoma town the COM
munity gathered in a schoolhouse to
see the Christmas tree. A candle, ig
hitting a ball of cotton, turned the
room into a roaring inferno. Thirty
two were burned to death and 40
others were injured in a stampede
around the one exit To the building
About 20 persons were killed, as
many more injured and 200 or more
rendered homeless when a dam on the
Holston River, in southwest Virginia,
burst Christmas eve. The flood wa
tiers swept over the town of Parmar-
ton, Va, near Saltville.
Economic.
Addressing a class in current
events last week, Ambassador Jus
serand of France let the cat out of
the bag when he declared that the
general subject of his recent CONVEX
sations with Secretary of the Treas
ury Mellon was not how France
should pay her debts to the United
States, but when. France, said the
Ambassador, needs breathing
SPELL" a moratorium to collect her
self before beginning payment of the
debt, but in the end she intends to
pay. His speech was widely com
mented upon, because the Ambassa-
doris recent conversations with Sec
rotary Mellon have given rise to
much conjecture to the general effect
that France was about to begin pay
ment of her debts to the United
States, subject which is of tremen-
dous Importance to England, because
France owes England a sum COM
parable to her debt to this country.
The Ambassadors speech is reported
to have resulted in an admonition from
the French foreign Office that he is not
to speak until duly authorized to pre-
sent his country's views on the sub
ject.
An American mission which went to
Persia two years ago TO teach that gov
eminent how to raise and how to spend
its money, is willing to give up its task
as bad job and come back home. A
report has it that Arthur c. Millspaugh,
who heads the mission, will return to
this country in January, when its con-
tract with the government expires. The
trouble has been, it is reported, that
Persia is interested in what the mission
has taught, but is unwilling to abide by
it's instructions.
The month of October saw the great
est amount of freight in the history
of the country shipped over the rail-
ways, according to the monthly state
ment of the American Railway Asso-
citation.
Fifteen large banking corporations in
the country have been combined sunder
the single management of the Purities
Bakeries Corporation, Of Minnesota.
The combined business Of the concerns
will amount to 100000 annually.
Aviation.
For six months now, through rain
sleet and snow, the airmail flyers
have been speeding overland every
night with their cargoes of Uncle
Sans mail Last Sunday night the
first fatal accident in this service was
recorded when Charles Gilbert a
pilot, crashed to his death in a leap
from his plane. He jumped In a
binding snowstorm, and his para
chute evidently failed to function
properly. - -
Testifying before a special. investi-
eating committee of the House last
week, Rear Admiral Mofrett chief of
the Bureau of Aeronautics, declared
that only 224 out Of the $40 planes of
all kinds in possession Of the Navy
could be used in time of war. About
500 planes now used are obsolete, he
said. He disagreed with reports that
the next war will be fought wholly
in the air. The air Is merely a new
arm" he said, but will not displace
anything"
Eight persons were killed last week
when big London to-Paris air ex-
press crashed to earth shortly after
leaving the airdrome in Croydon
Since the establishment of the regu-
! lar commercial service between Lon
don and Paris few years ago there
have been only three fatal accidents
Geography.
When the Association of Ameri.
can Geographers meets this week at
the National Geographic Society,"
headquarters here, present-day ex-
plorers who are devoting good
part of their lives to discovering
what was going on in the. world be-
fore men kept records of such things
will discuss some of their findings
In connection with the meeting of the
association there will be an exhibit
showing the progress Of geography
as represented in recent explorations
and in educational work designed to
raise keener interest In the subject
Ciuics.
Basing his statements on personal
discoveries in Egypt, DR.. James Hen
ry Breasted, director of the Oriental