Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-31
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Senior DIR. Don Ricardo Alfaro, the
Panamanian Minister at Washington,
is proceeding to his country to argue
before its National Assembly for the
ratification of the new American-Pan-
amanian treaty. He was especially in
vited to do so. There is considerable
opposition to the pact and DR.. AL
faro's personal support Of it will be
Of influential aid to his government in
the Assembly discussion. 1t happens
that the treaty was concluded under
the foreign ministership of DR.. AL
faro's brother, DR.. Horatio Alfaro. The
Minister to the United States was him
self foreign secretary of Panama be-
tween the years 1918 and 1922, and it
was during his regime that the nego-
tiations, now successfully terminated.
were begun. DR.. Alfaro has repre-
sented Panama in Washington for the
past four years and is looked upon as
one Of the most skillful and brilliant
Latin-American diplomats stationed on
the Potomac. He expects to tarry on
the Isthmus for about month.
X X X X
It's a curious coincidence that the
heir-apparent to the throne of Japan
and the prime minister of Australia
should have arrived in the United
States on the same ship and sojourned
in Washington within the same 48
hours. There's about as little love
| lost between the Australians and the
Japanese as there is between the resi-
dents Of our Pacific Coast and the chill
dren OF Nippon. Premier Bruce pro-
| claims that his country's relations
with Japan are admirable" but deep
down in the hearts of most Aus
tralians there is formidable fear that
| the banners Of the Rising Sun will
some day be carried to their shores.
The commonwealth of Australia main
tains its own navy, mainly with a
view to "the yellow peril" At last
accounts the fleet consisted of four
| light cruisers and a corresponding flo
tilla of destroyers and other auxiliary
| craft. In 1924 Australia adopted q
program to build two 10,000-ton cruis-
ers and two ocean-going submarines
One Of the reasons the British govern
ment has gone ahead with the great
naval-base project at Singapore Is the
| defensive necessities of John Bulls
vast possessions in the South Seas.
| X X x \:
Great importance is attached at
the State Department to John w.
| Davis support of the Lausanne
| treaty, which comes up for discussion
in the Senate on January 8. Demo
cratic opposition to ratification is the
danger Secretary Kellogg principally
| fears. At their national dissension"
at Madison Square Garden in 1924 the
| Democrats put an anti-Lausanne
| plank in their platform. Davis stood
on 1t, but now, after two years and
| more. has recanted. The admins
tration hopes that the views of the
late Democratic presidential candidate
will prove contagious among the Sen
ate minority.
One of the branches of the Govern
ment that believes in taking time by
| the forelock is the Medical Depart
ment of the United States Army. It's
chief, Surg. Gen. Merritte w. Ireland,
has Just been informed by the Ameri-
| can Red Cross that the department
| has been awarded the gold medal or
| the international committee OF the
| Red Cross as first prize in the compe'
tition for wound cards" The COM
petition was held at Geneva. Many
nations took part The winning
| ''wound cards." submitted by the
| United States, are the official "emer-
gency medical tags" and field medi-
cal records employed by the Army in
| the field in ticketing the sick and
wounded for evacuation and record
purposes.
| X X "
Washington is about to be invaded
by a couple Of rival "metaphysicians"
from mystic India. One of them Is
A. X. Mozumdar, who says he halls
from Calcutta and Los Angeles" He
calls himself the message bearer of