Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-14

Casualties of service" II what our
9ailOrmeD call such catastfOplies a.
the destruction Of the Lake Denmark
naval arsenal in New Jersey. They're
all In the days work, too. from the
Navy's standpoint, and are taken to
heart by both officers and enlisted men
far less than by the general public.
From the Nations standpoint these
dreadful disasters are the price Of pre-.
paredness, Uncle Sam cannot have
the omelet OF safety without break
ing soma eggs. Ammunition depots.
up to date and well stocked, arr es-
aential to readiness TOR na8i0nai
emergencies, even In the most piping
times OF peace. Some day historians
may tell the wOrld by how much the
world War would have been shorten
cd if the United States had entered
ii prepared, instead OF upprepared.
The New Jersey Legislature is In ses.
sion this week. One of the things II
may do is to appeal urgently 70 the
Federal Government to locate Army
and Navy arsenals In future farther
away from tlictiy populated areas.
senator Edge of New Jersey has been
advocating that for several years, with
. prophetic sense Of the danger that
recently came to pass at Lake Dem
mark. Edge thinks the wide open
spaces Of the far West are ideal stu
atoms for these vast dumps" OF shot,
shell and high explosives.
washington, though not nenaced
by the Navy arsenal blast. produced
one of its heroines--a young woman
clerk in the Navy Department named
Miss Helene Philibert. She comes
from st. Louis, Mo-. Miss Phitibert'e
lob is In the press section Of the
once of naval intelligence. She has
been clerk In the department since
1917, but did not become q yeO-
nlanette for war service. Miss Phiii-i
bert and a girl friend from st. Louis
had spent Saturday afternoon az
Mount Vernon When they came
home In the evening . friend ~ the
news or tho Lake Denmark eataa-
trophe. Immediately Miss Philibert
went to her once, and. findiug the
whole department practically empty
tackled the task Of preparing a
ssnews release on the big story, Just
% if It had happened during regur
lar working hours, and worked on
n with the aid OF freshly arriving
| details, until far into the night. AZ
3 O'Clock on Sunday morning she
called IL e. days work and went home.
But the press c9 the country had all
the facts the Navy Department could
give It.
John Winga&e Weelxs didn't look
on the War Department as q war
department at all. He came into II
when It was d tremendous business
Department, with the hefculeaH duty
of disposing Of hundreds of millions
| Of dollars or surplus, leftover World
War stocks. TO that task Weeks
bent with all the energy and com
mercial knowledge he possessed. He
always stressed that feature OF his
four years In the secretaryship as
the best and bigg6at thing he did.
Not many people know that Il was
Weeks who recommended Edwin
penby to Preside elect Harding. for
the sec4etaryship Of the Navy.
Woelxs and DENLY were IN the House
of Representatives together Both
were members Of the celebrated
lstered q historic rebuke To President
I''shadow1ng' Of members Of Congress.
II
New that the news from White
Pine Camp III dealing loss with rain,
chiils and mosquitoes. ard the prexis
dental fisherman confesses he's en-
'joying himself. thereIl probably be
no necessity for an official inquiry
that was about to be launched. The
! inquiry was to have been conducted
l ~ some Of ssCalssss friends. to find
I nut who III the world Sold him the
idsa q INVADING TIC AdirondaclEs