Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-09-27

the air services OF the Army and Navy
began last week.
While the Presidents board was
examining witnesses here at the Cap
itol Building whose testimony will 60
into the making of a report on the
condition Of the air defenses of this
country. a naval board of inquiry
into the Shenandoah disaster got
under way at Lakehurst, n. ].
The Presidents board heard officers
of the War Department and General
Staff and Maj. Gen. Patrick. chief Of
the Army Air Service. testify for and
against a separate dir service. The
testimony against it came from Act
ing Secretary of War Dwight w.
Davis and officers Of the General
Staff. Gen. Patrick testified in favor
of separate Air Service. Secretary
Of the Navy Wilbur and high officers
on the Nays general board, testified
sobdly against a separate Air Service,
as did Rear Admiral Moffett, chief of
the Bureau of Aeronautics. Postmas-
ter General New told the board of the
progress of aviation in carrying the
mails. while Secretary Hoover came
out in favor of governmental aid in
establishing the airplane as an in
strument of commerce in this country.
At Lakehurst, the board Of inquiry
heard technical points concerning the
Shenandoah disaster discussed and
Capt. Steele, the commandant of the
Lakehurst station, declared that
Comdr. Lansdowne of the Shenan-
doah had asked the Navy Department
to postpone the Shenandoah's flight,
but the Navy had refused.
Tomorrow will begin a week of tes-
timony before the Presidents board
which is to be featured by the ap-
pearance of Col. William Mitchell,
who stirred up all the row over air
craft. He came from Texas, where
he was relieved last week from active
duty. to permit his appearance and
testimony here.
Italy plans to prevent Giuseppe
Srebrnic, Communist in the Italian
Chamber of Deputies, from coming to
the United States as a delegate to the
nterparliamentary Union. If this Is
true she will take the burden Of de-
nying him entrance to this country
from the shoulders of the United
States Government, which last week
declared that Saklatyala, British Com
munist, could not enter.
Saklatvala's exclusion from the In
terparliamentary Union, of which he
is member, will be brought officially
before the union when it meets here
by Rennie Smith, member of the
British Parliament and a delegate to
the union, according to the New
Leader, a Socialist organ published
In New York. The paper says Mr..
Smith will protest this countrys
action.
Delegates to the League of Ma
tons, whose council has been meeting
in Geneva, have reached agreement
~ Ahn IL
conference under the auspices of the
league, but the question of whether
the United States viii participate re-
mains unanswered. President Cool
idge was represented last week as
leaving the whole question of Amer.
lean participation up to Congress. He
wants to do nothing which could be
interpreted as opposing or discourag-
ing the league, but at the same time
Is unwilling to take any step which
might not meet the approval Of Con.
gress. The league Is expected to In
vite the United States to send experts
to Geneva to work on plans for the
conference.
Ebert II. Gary. chairman Of the
board OF the United States Steel Cor
poration and a man who Is inter-
viewed in the newspapers as much as,
II not more than. any other citizen of
the United States. believes that
silence is the golden rule for sue
cess In business, according to an ad-
dress before commerce students of the
New York University last week.
Sticking to one line of endeavor, hon.
esty, punctuality, mental, moral and
physical health, observance Of the law
ana making friends are other require
ments laid down by Mr.. Gary.
DR.. Nicholas Murray Butler, presi.
dent OF Columbia University, will not
debate the question of prohibition
with Representative William D. Up
shaw OF Georgia, as the latter chal-
lenged him to do. because, he says,
his correspondence with people in all
parts of the country has made him
believe that If prohibition were put
10 referendum vote it would lose
to 3. At the same time, Senator
Walsh of Montana, returning from q
trip to Europe. said that while there
was q lot of ballyhooing In New York
about prohibition, not a wet whisper
is heard in the halls Of Congress.
The State Department does not look
with favor upon the actions OF Amer
leans who are fighting with the
French army, though not under the
French command, in it's campaign
against the Riffs. The Government
last week ordered the American
consul general in the territory where
the American aviators are operating
TO notify them that they were acting
in violation Of sections Of the Revised
Statutes of the United States. No
word has yet been received Of how
the American aviators will look upon
this warning by their Government.
The Riffian leader. meanwhile, is re-
ported to have offered a reward. Of
$4,000 for the body Of every American
aviator brought to him, dead or alive.
The Lexington, third aircraft car.
rier Of the Navy, and a sister ship
of the Saratoga. will be christened
at the Fore River shipyards, Quincy
Mass, the latter part of this week.
When completed, she will be s88 feet
long, capable of a speed of SO knots
and will carry 72 planes. Completion
Of the Saratoga and the Lexington
will give the Navy two airplane car.
riers beyond comparison with any
other power.
Economics.
Headed by the French minister of
finance, Joseph Caillaux, distin-
guished mission of French experts
came to Washington last week and
Immediately went to work with the
American Debt Funding Commission
on the troublesome problem of reach
ing an agreement by which France
will repay to this country her $4,000
000,0 600 war debt.
Meeting the American commission
Thursday. the day following their ar