Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-16
LONDON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Seven weeks of q Naval Conference
run by the statesmen and not by the
Sailors-without results-caused the
American sea dogs at London to laugh
| diScreetly up their sleeves. The states
man who evoked most of their mirth is
none other than Charles Gates Dawes,
United States Ambassador to the Court
of st. James and one of the diplomatic
members of the American delegation at
the conference. The sailors grin fol
two reasons when they think of Dawes
and naval limitation. In the first place,
they recall that it was under his regime
as director Of the budget, eight years
ago, that the policy of American naval
retrenchment was inaugurated. Some
Of them say that Dawes was largely its
nstigator. Then the sailormen smile
when they bark back to Gen. Dawes
celebrated Peace Bridge speech at Nj
agara Falls, In 1927, following the
Geneva conference flasco On that occa-
sion the Vice President Gas he then was)
lambasted the sailors mercilessly for
having hashed affairs at Geneva. He
became the advance agent of the theory
that at the next conference, civilian,
not naval, influence should predominant,
and all would be as easy as pie. Now
Dawes sits in, as one Of the powerS-that-
be, at the wholly statesmanlike confer
ence he craved, finding himself ESQ the
naval folk say up against precisely the
same obstacles which proved insur-
mountable in Switzerland three years
ago. Incidentally, the sailors point out
that the $1,000, 900 900, more or less,
which Uncle Sam is about to have spent
on his parity" fleet must be gall and
wormwood to the budget boss of 1922.
=
During the Paris peace conference
Hugh Gibson, then a junior oficer Of
the foreign service, was assigned to the
commission which. was trying to carve
out the future destinies of Jugoslavia.
His nickname around the Hotel Crillon,
American headquarters, was Hugo-Slav
Gibson. At naval conference dinner
party IN London a typical haw-haw
Englishman, apropos nothing in par
ticular, asked Ambassador Gibson, II
say, do they speak Jugo In Jugoslavia?"
Gibson said he wasn't aware Of the ex-
istence Of such q language, and replied,
What makes you think that they talk
Jugo In Jugoslavia9" Quoth the SON of
John Bull, well, you know, they speak
Czech In CSechsolvakia, and rawther
thought they'd talk Jugo in Jugoslavia."
n n n n
London's favorite piano concert artist
is the German virtuoso, Arthur Selma
bel. Schnabel says he can never give a
100 per cent account of himself at re-
cital In London, because, on account of
climatic conditions, "all English pianos
have colds" In Scotland, Schnabel
claims, he can hardly make himself
heard with orchestral accompaniment,
because all Scotch players strum and
blow their instruments fortissimo to
keep warm.
\ Il II
The British post office authorities,
which control the telephones and tele-
graphs in these islands, maintain a con-
venience for the public, which Is worthy
Of emulation In American cities. At fire.
quent intervals public telephone booths
are placed In the streets. A local call
costs 2 pence a cents).
u u II
Ever and anon hitherto unknown
World War episodes are revealed in
England. One Of the latest concerns Sir
Roger Easement, Irish Sim Fem agita-
tor, who was executed for high treason
in 1915. following his attempt to land in
this country on q mission from Ger