, .srV y ?! V ) 9. ""'T.7J1; " V S V - r ? . RU -PHlLAJbjLlA'HIA, !'MuL.Ar, AUUU'JL1 25, 1921 8 EVENING PUBLIC LEDGKER- r , f i & T '.'JEuening public Webger PUBLIC LEDGER COMPANY 1 CYIIV8 H. K. CUIITIH, 1'iitslDIMT John C, Martin, Vice I'ruldTt anil Treasurer: Charles A, Tyler, Secretary: Chir'es H. l.udln. tan, Philip 8. Cotllnn, John n. WlllUm. John J. Strarceon. Oeorce F, Qotdsmliti, OavUl K. Smiley, .Directors. DAVID R. PM1I.RT Editor JOHN C. MARTIN... .general UuMness Mnnaiter Published dally at l'LBi.lc Lrncii Uulldlne lndenendencA Snuare Phlliol-lnhlA ArUNTIo Cm Vrtai-Vnlon Dulldlnf jsw inns jin .Mmiitun Ave. DmioiT 701 Ford llulMlns; fiT. Lncis 013 alobf-Democrat nulliline Cntcioo 1.102 Tribune Dulldlnf NEWS IlCIIUAUS: WlSttlNOTO nCREjtU, .. N. K. I'or Pennsylvania Ave and 14th St WW Tone lU'REltJ The ,1m Ilultdlns London ncsctu .TrafalAr Itulldlnt HL'IWCIHPTtflV TI'riMM The EiENINn I'cbi.io I.iMcn Is served to sub scribers In riillAdelphla and surrounding; towna at the rato of twelve (13) cents per week, payable to the carrier Br mall to points outside of Philadelphia In the United States. Canada, or I'nlted Stitee poi- Sessions, pontage free, fifty (50 cents per month. Ill (JO) dollaM per ear, pnyaMe In advance. To all foreirn countries one (1 dollar a month. Notio Subscribers wishing nddreea changed Must five old ns well as new addieas. BELL. JMO TAI.MI KFYsTONF. MAIN HOI CTAddrtss all communications to Evening I'ublio uwaaer, niifpetine nee snvnrr. rmintleiphta Member of the Associated Press THE ASSOrtATKD I'KKSS is tidualvelv en WUd to the use tor republication of nil news alspatchts credited to It or nor orAtrtrlse crtdlted in this pater, and also the Ioo.il news published therein. All rtphts ej republication of special dispatches Herein ore also reserved. rhtlidrlphU, ThuriJ.y, Auiml :3, "121 A FIELD FOR THE P. R. T. PARK THE transit company's promise of summer opera at Its proposed new amusement park at Sixty-third and Market streets sug Bests a type of enterprise which already has proved attractive lu several large cities. Chicago in particular can boast of an up rntlc season at Harinla Park that compnres by no means unfavorably with the regular subscription series In more formal plnj houses. Singers of distinction are conceivably not rcrse to summer engagements for remunera tion lower than that which figures in the . Metropolitan, Chicago and Oallo companies' payrolls. Stars of the tlrst magnitude lire Hot invariably necessary to finished and balanced representations, ns has been re peatedly demonstrated abroad. Vacation-time opera affords opportunity for aspiring young singers sufficiently en dowed with native gifts to respond to pro fessional training in association with stand ardized principals. Objectors to the establishment of the pro jected park have presented various argu ments, including the somewhat amusing one of Commissioner Medary, of llywood, "that thoe who care for opera ore able to satisfy their tastes by visiting the high -class artists "in the grand opera In I'hi'adelphin." As the Academy of Music is virtually sold out for the winter season of only sixteen per formances, it Is Interesting to wonder how the imagined "visiting" is to be done. What Is more to the point than com plaints is insistence upon the fulfillment of the rosy program outlined by the l It. T. If a new park Is to be brought into being at Sixty-third street It should be justified by really worth-while offerings. Mere talk along esthetic lines Is not enough. The way for the park planners to win, if legal en tanglements are overcome, is to broaden the field of summer entertainment here. No Increase of parks devoted chietiy to Coney Island devices is needed. A ONE-THEME TREATY THE thirty-day recess of Congress which began last night will enable the treaty scrutinizers of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to subject the new pact with Germany to the most searching examination. 'The labor Involved is unlikely to mar a more or less earned vacation. The new document, like woman's and politicians' love. Is brief, and is concerned chiefly with the formal pronouncement of peace, which was thought at one time to have been so au thoritatively spoken by the Knox -Porter resolution. It is difficult to Imagine what reasonable objection the opponents of the Versailles Treaty can mnke to the separate pact, which Is comparatively free from argument-provoking details. With the Reichstag and the Senate each doing business about a month hence, it seems hardly too much to expect that peace will be actuullv concluded liy November 11, three years frSm the cessation of hostilities. The foreshadowed supplemental trentv with Gennnnv. to be devoted to an adjust ment of intricate financial matter-, will doubtless furnish the Senate with some ma terials for debate. The speechifying, how Tcr, will not prolong the war statu a fact which Secretary Hughes .-eeins to have counted upon with a characteristic appre ciation of realities. The skll'fnlncss of Mr. Hughes' methods is illustrated by the signing in Vienna of the treaty of peace with Austria. The im portance of that aireeiwur is largely tech nical. The Austria which exists today Is but a residue of the former empire with which the I'nlted States was nt wnr. Nevertheless, obstreperous spirits can take little consolation from the fn t tliot they knew nothing of the negotiations until the first step was formally completed. THE INTERNATIONAL WHIRLIGIG THE evanescence of national animosities is strikingly illustrated in the numerous applications for enlistment in the current wnr against the .Moors winch luue been made at the Spanish Consulate in this city s The appeal of romance ami adventure, and perhaps also the prospect of steadv if meagerlj paid employment, are doubtless tic direct causes of tins enthusiasm for more soldiering. Hut what hn become of the old inhibitions, of the detestation of Spam as a cruel and degenerate nation, upon which the United States inlllctcd condign punish ment? Twenty -three cars ago tin pics-nt recruiting scenes would liinc been judg. d utterlj unimaginable. The temporary nature of international passions suggests tlint affections as well may be etpiulh fleeting. Considerations of this kind iiniictiiiuably give point to the traditional American mcrsion to foreign alliances It Is not altogether easy to determine who will he our friends, who our foes, upon this cham; ng earth u score of years from any given date. HE WOULD BE KING 'AS A man who would be K.ng. Prince XX Feisal f.oiucrh of Arabia, takes dis tinguished rank His invaluable aid to the Allies in the Palestine i'uiiipaigis was origi nally so rapturously icceixed by both the "English and the Fieneli ihut the brilliant young ciiieftiiiu, who claim-- descent from Mohammed himself, was richly rewarded With promises. Among these was a vision of his nsccnt ro a newly constituted thr-iie of Syria. From that eminence, to uhuh lie bclicwd himself entitled. Feisal wtis summarily ejtsted by the French, with Itritam looking OB without csnec nl disapproval 4The M'li of the old Shcreef of Mitch, imw &? Klnt of the Hedjiu, prmed himself, v. '& . JaVl til 11(1 ftlilittlU it trill In I uu u 4 I. .. nsjfjrja iprvr, vj on menus b 'X. I ' rt. He had nt r'vl pnterenre und was K '" H.Mff the Kurownn dl r? j .. ( ; " nun ill l III lie had intended the Puns Pence. as not without knowledge Ilplonuulo methods. Iln ,-m , mH bwa promised realm AWicre was It? Vii. The answer Is furnished by Great Britain In establishing Prince Feisal ns King of Mesopotamia, or that portion of it called Irak, for which the ltritish Government holds a mandate tinder the League of Na tions. Tho move Is undeniably shrewd. It is In accord with the Moslem complexion of the Mesopotamlnn region and will prob ably exert n mollifying effect upon the growing militancy of Mohammedan opinion throughout the world. Feisal is obviously not the type of man who can Indefinitely be cheated successfully. His occupancy of the throne at Ilagdnil not only restores something of the prestige en joyed by Hint nncient capital during tho great days of the Caliphate, but it means n powerful friend for Britain In one of tho corners of the globe where she needs as sistance most. NEW ROADS ARE A GREAT AID TO ALL CIVILIZED PROGRESS The West Chester Pike and a View of the Future Suggested by Its Reopening Yesterday ONE by one magnificent new concrete roads of nn nlmost indestructible type are beginning to run out from Philadelphia over long distances like the spokes of a whftl. The new West Chester highway, opened formally yesterday, represents another step forward In a road-building program which, in the course of time, will affect the eco nomic and social life of the State and the Nation ns profoundly as the first great rail way lines did. Look at a rood engineer's map of the country and you will see, jutting out like extending tentacles from every great center of population, the newly completed motor highways of the modern type. These newer traffic arteries arc projected over lines de vised to link the great central roadways of one State with those of all the others in a vast network of smooth and durablo roads. In this State the road-bulldlug and main tenance svstem, to which motor owners now are directly contributing 10.00(1,000 n year, has been magnificently administered, Broadly speaking, it is unaffected by politics or com munity favoritism. The engineers have plotted out their work with a view solely to tho greatest good for the greatest number. What might be called express motor routes are being established year after year be tween the more important cities and in ac cordance with scientific plans devised to extend the beneiits of good roads to the farms. Year after year, as the number of motorcars in use increases, money for such work becomes more plentiful. Current reports from the State Highway Department show hat the 000.000th mark has just been passed by the bureau which issues licenses to passenger cars. This means that Pennsylvania has more passen ger automobiles than any other State ex cept New York, and that ov-ers of such vehicles pay nt least $8,000,000 a year in special fees. That money, with the fees paid by truck owners, must be used for rood construction nnd repair. There is. besides, the .?."(!. 000. (MX) State bond issue made avail able by recent legislation for the improve ment and extension of the general highway system. Within the last few years motor roads of the most modern type hove been completed or soon will be completed between this city ond Koylestown, Bethlehem, Beading and West Chester. The magnificent concrete highway to Atlantic City and the other South Jersey resorts has been virtually com pleted. In New Jersey the work of road -building has been carried on with very large State appropriations, nnd it is being pushed con sistently. Within a few years it will be possible to travel over solid concrete road wajs from any central point in Pennsyl vania to any point on the Jersey const. Meanwhile, the neighboring States arc hardly less energetic and lavish than Penn sylvania and New Jersey in opening and improving avenues for the new sort of transport. It is predicted that within ten years concrete roads will extend from coast to coast. The need for this gradual reconstruction of the coun'ry's main highwajs becomes apparent afur a glance at the statistics of the State Highway Department at Harris burg. On July 1. 1014. there were approxi mately 7(5.000 motorcars of all types in use in this State. In 101S there were approxi mately ,rj.'..000. The use of the motorcar has so inerensed in Pennsylvania that the total number of passenger cars now on the State roads is twice as great as the number of machines of all tjpes operated in the State two and n half years ago. And like all things in America, the automobile has many new tri umphs ahead of it. In recent years farmers have come fully to appreciate the utility of good roads. They have ceaed to object to the expendi ture of large sums of public money for the improvement of old highways and the build ing of new ones. The motorcar hus given the farmer a new sort of life. Farms ore no longer isolated. Good roads and automobiles may vet sohc the momentous problem created by nn earlier drift of the younger generation from the agricultural areas to the cities. The farm on which there is a motorcar is no longer cut off from the advantages and diversions of the cities. It offers, rather, the combined advantages of city ond Country life that people are accustomed to seek in the suburbs. A "MYSTERY" UNCOVERED THE mystery behind President Wilson's Panama tolls address to Congress is uneowred in the second installment of the letters of Walter II in us Page which up peart. in the current World's Work. It will be recalled that the President con cluded Ills address by a request for u repeal of the Free Tolls Act "in support of the foreign policy of the Administration." He said further: "I shall not know how to deal with other matters of even greater delifiicv and nearer consequences if you do not grant it to me in ungrudging measure. " As the Mexican situation was acute, at the time, there was an immediate Inference t lint the tolls repeal was asked In order to appease Great Britain, which was supposed to be demanding tlint the t'nited States cither do something to compel the Mexicans to respect the rights of foreigners or permit the British to intervene Hut the Page letters do not support this view Thev indicate that early in lUVi the President had nssured the Ilritisli that he would seek to bring about the repeal os soon as possible, for be believed that the law was passed in violation of treaty pledges. Tlieie are frequent references to the mutter in the letters which Ambassador Page wrote, nnd th-y all indicnte that the sole purpose of the repeal was to remove grounds of friction between the I'nlted States and Great Britain. 'llie Ilritisli had protested against the passage of the act and had insisted that it violated the canal treaty, and when the act was repealed they were gratified. The editor of the Page letters suggests that the question of "greater delicacy" to which the President referred "was not un related to the colossal tragedy which was at that moment overhanging Europe and the world." As It was in March 1014. tlint the Presi dent made his plea for repeal, more than three monthw before the assasslnntlon in Sarajevo, and when virtually every one was confident that a great war was im possible, It Is crediting th President with keener foresight than any other statesman to ussitmc that he had In mind in March the prevention of any such thing as hap pened at the end of July. ANOTHER QUEEN'S END mllE end of the ZIt-tt must be regarded as n major catastrophe involving an In calculable number of minor tragedies. The Americans aboard the big dirigible met death in a singularly terrible form. Among them were some of the best men of tho naval aviation service. With them perished some of the bravest and most ar dent pioneers of British aviation. And it is probable that among the build ers and designers of the ZIt-2 were men who, reading of the disaster at Hull, wished bitterly In their despair that they had been aboard their Queen of the Air to perish with her and her helpless passengers. For upon the performance of this super Zeppelin depended the hopes of those fliers and builders who believed that dirigibles would supplant the plane in the war and commerce of the air. A long time probably will be required to fix responsibility for the disaster. It was freely rumored that the big vessel was not so safo as she should hnve been. The United Stotes had contracted to pay $2,000,000 for the dirigible. The loss will fall, of course, upon the builders, who were staking their reputations as well as their money on the success of the trial flights. The exact cause of tho explosion may never be known. Scientific men may argue over it for years. To the laymen It will nppcar Inevitably as if unknown forces played in thjs Instance against the mind of man as If there were here a suggestion that the audacious of the earth are a little too eager, a llttlo too ardent and swift and reckless in their attempts to complete the couquest of the air. For the strangest co incidence revealed in the disaster of the ZK-2 was not mentioned in the cables. The Zeppelin after which the British builders and engineers designed their biggest dirigible came to an end similar to that which befell the ZR-2. She fell in flames and every man aboard of her died In the nlr. Again yesterday It was demonstrated that an immense reservoir of highly inflammable gas, burdened with big gas engines nnd nrtlllcry, can hardly be reckoned a safe Instrument of war. COMMUNISM ON ITS LAST LEGS WHAT purports to bo n confession of failure by Lcnine has been published in Paris. It is in tho form of a letter to a friend whom ho knew when he was in exile. The confession may or may not be authentic, but it contains what any intelli gent observer of the Russian situation knows to be true. There is no reason save one of political expediency which should prevent Leniue from making the ndmisslons witt which he is credited. He has already made them in part by his concessions to the desire of the peasants to own their land and by his modification of the communistic theory in tho management of industry. Lcnine is represented ns saying that tho Hussion workers nnd "peasants have betrayed their own interests. He gambled on the collective instinct which he thought ought to hold the people and the members of the Communist Party together, but he found that the collective Instinct was weaker than the individual instinct to possess nnd to re tain that which was acquired. In other words, he gambled on the weakness of a human qunlity which has been responsible for the organization of what he is pleased to call the capitalistic Governments. It is a matter of history that Govern ments have been organized to protect the property as well as the life of the people. The right to .private property has been re garded as sacred. The hope of accumulating it lins been responsible for the material de velopment of the world. It has driven men from the older countries to the new. where they have endured hardship and privation for jears that they might ultimately profit by the possession of land and its fruits of nil kinds. There has been no mass action in this. The individuals with sufficient initia tive to go forth and tame the waste places of the earth have been responsible for what has happened. What is called the collective Instinct has been born in men who have wished to profit by the labors of the Individuals without enduring the hardships which the individuals havo suffered. They have insisted that the world belongs to the people who inhabit it, nnd that they and those who agree with them are the people. "For a long time past I have realized the imminence of compromise and conces sions on our side," the alleged confession goes on, "which would draw to our party new forces nnd increase the little band of weary and rcallysdevoted workers. Without that we cannot go on." But nn outhentic message from Lcnine to the German Communists indicates that he has not lost faith In his theories. He tells the Germans that it is necessary to, choose the time when the masses, driven by the capitalist class to defend themselves, will unconsciously make common cause with the Communists, nnd that the whole tactics and strategy of the party's propaganda must be directed toward that end. The Russian lenders must hnve lost hope for the expected world-wide industrial revo lution with which they began their experi ment. And they must know, too, thnt no Communist State can live among States organized on the old system. If the Rus sians aro to deal with the rest of the world ond there can be no recovery from the present industrial depression unless they have such dealings it must be possible for foreign business men to deal with Russian business men with some guarantee that the Russians will keep their contracts ns Indi viduals. It begins to look vpry much ns if the end of communism is in sight. A Ilagerstown, Md., Story Lacks Frills correspondent says lightning struck a pear tree and ran nlong a fence until It struck a hen's nest, where it left the skel eton of the chicken clean ns a bone ond made a hole In each eg! and emptied It. Rut he failed to add that the boneless chicken cooked to a turn and garnished with ome lets and sliced pears was found on n section of fence puling ot the farmhouse dining mom door. Wo jes' nachally 'spise an Inartistic liar. Expert says that Take It In Reverse American women are toller than they were forty years ngo and that athletics Is re sponsible. But only n small proportion of the women of the country Indulge In ath letics. It would be just ns easy to prove thut the Incrense In height Is due to' less exercise than formerly. Surely the broom nnd tile washtub nre as effective muscle pro ducers as the golf stick and tennis racquet, nnd the modern housekeeper does not ns a Ttile have to work as hard as did her mother and grandmother Australia Is sure she has oil somewhere nhout the house, but for the life of her she can't find the kernseno can. The man who finds it may hnve tio oil nnd $175,000 of Government money Into the bargain. Tho derrick-building business ought soon to bo A .l.l.ta In ell fYflall Iiuuriauiuii u - a i . AN ODD COINCIDENCE How Horace Q. Knowlet, a Delawaro Diplomatist, Brought King Peter of Serbia to Terma Thirteen Yeara Ago An Unwritten 8tory of the Balkan By GEORGE NOX McOAIN A N ODD coincidence appeared in the newsnaners of t ha country the other tioy. i In ono column was the announcement of tho death of King Peter of Serbia. In nnother column an Associated Press dispatch from Washington announced that Horace O. Knowlcs, legal adviser to the Haitian Commission, had filed a protest with the Government against further mili tary occupation of Haiti by United States Marines. King Peter and Horace G. Knowles thir tceu years ago were the two angles of a diplomatic triangle of which I unwittingly happened to be the third. My part in the episode was Innocent and wholly unpremeditated. And yet It como very near producing n serious diplomatic rumpus between the two countries. King Peter of Serbia, a grouchy, self important nnd sullen old monarch, was, at that period of his career, as touchy as an exposed nervo In a decayed tooth. HORACE O. KNOWLES Is a Dela wnrcan. He Is a member of tho bar In Wilmington. He still holds it as his legal residence. For a dozen years or more he was In tho diplomatic service of the Government. In 1003 he was Minister to Rumania. His official headquarters were in Bucha rest, Rumania, though he was also ac credited to Serbia and Bulgaria. Five years previous King Alexander and Queen Droga of Serbia had been brutally assassinated and their bodies flung from tho windows of the old palnco In Belgrade. When Peter came to the throne ho not only admitted the murderers to his councils, but even permitted them to wenr tho whlto cross displayed ns evidence of their par ticipation In the assassination. I; or this reason, for some years after reaching the throne, he wus ostracized by the Governments of Europe. It was n case of Carranza and Mexico in the Balkans. "If, in your travels, you ever get over my way be sure to drop in on me." said Horace G. Knowles one night In 1007 in Wilmington at the close of a lecture. We had known each other for yenrs. He had called to inform me of his selec tion as "Minister to Rumanin ; to sny good-by, too, for our paths were ns widely divergent as our wanderings. TIHE summer of 1003, oddly enough, found (5 me with three members of my family in Belgrade, capital of Serbia. We had toured the Western Balkans nnd were on our way to Bulgaria. Max K. Moorehend. of Pittsburgh, was American Consul in Belgrade.' I telegraphed Minister Knowlcs In Bucharest of our arrival in Belgrade. I inquired If he expected to bo in Belgrade within the ensuing few weeks. He replied thnt he intended leaving Buch arest within ten dns for the Serbian capital nnd would meet us there. I announced this fact to Consul Moorehend nnd his wife at lunch the following day ot the consulate. It was Minister Knowlcs' first appearance In Belgrade. Of course, his presentation to King Peter would undoubtedly bo part of his visit. Consul Moorehcad informally communi cated the contents of my telc2rnm to tho palace officials. It was not nn official com munication. King Peter, eager to receive the recognition of the American Minister, Instantly fixed n date for his reception. Meantime I proceeded on to Bulgaria. In Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, I re ceived a telegram from Minister Knowlcs saying thnt his visit to Belgrade would havo to be delayed for a week and for mo not to hurry back to Belgrade, Having completed our Bulgnrian tour we returned to Belgrade to find a beautiful diplomatic mess sinuucrlug In the big grny stono palace. CONSUL MAX MOOREHEAD mean time had received an officlnl telcgrnm from the Anicrlcnn Minister announcing his intention to visit Belgrade. This was n week later than the dnto he named In his private telegram to me. The coming of the American Minister was n ray of sunlight in the gloom that over hung the ostracized Serbian court. King Peter had, metaphorically, been booted out of European royal circles. S'ow the United Stntes was to recognize him and it was a big red fenther lu his chapcau. When ( onsul Moorehend, therefore, car ried the official news that Minister Knowles would arrive n week later than expected, officialdom in the gray palace turned a flip flop. There was no occasion for any demonstra tion. The telegram to Consul Moorehcad was officlnl. The first telegram to me was per sonal. Its contents sliuuld not hnve been used ns n basis for any official action. KING PETER flew Into a rage. Within twenty-four hours Consul Moorehend wus Informed thnt the reeentlon to the American Minister wus postponed Indefi nitely. It wns hinted that a date for his presenta tion had been fixed in accordance with the previous notification. Now that the Minister had found it con venient to disregard the etiquette of the court and postpone his coming his Mnjestv found it Impossible to fix any definite date upon which to meet the American Minister. Thnt was the fact, though it was not expressed in such nn undiplomatic way. Consul Moorehcad communicated the facts to Bucharest. Minister Knowles had, how ever, started for Belgrade. The night of his arrlvul in the Serbian capital Consul and Mrs. Moorehcad, with the members of my party, had arranged n rcsention and dinner nt the Grand Hotel. The cafe was brilliant with lights, and the varied nnd picturesque uniforms of Serbian officers nnd the gleaming shoulders of the rather daring decollettc of Serbian ladles of the upper class. A Hungarian gipsy orchestra crashed out jerkv jazz-liko music. None of our party was in evening dress. We occupied n table at the fnr end of the cafe. I had posted the head waiter nnd the instant Mr. Knowles appeared nt the en trance with his wife our party rose to it's feet. There was a vast craning of necks nnd quiet i hntter as the Minister .followed the obsequious lackey down the wide aisle, and shook hands heartily with nil of us. I fancy American stock fell a good man) points In those few moments, The Idea of nn Ambassador or a Minister nppenring in a traveling costume of gray tweed. The eight Amerirnns nt the table there, the only representatives of the United Stntes In Serbia thnt night outside the mission aries, had a mighty good time for strangers in a strange land despite the comment und curious inspection. KING PETER was stiff-necked nnd re fused to receive the American Minister. His dignity had been hurt. He fancied, I think, that the Amerlcnn Minister had pur posely slighted him, just as nil Europo had done. The incident assumed a serious nir at last. Mr Knowles was nmpclled to make repie sentatlons to Washington on the subject. Then, nnd not till then, wns the situation clarified. I left Serbia within n few days nnd the Intlmnte detolls of the luter incidents were lost to me for a time. I do know that shortly nfter the episode the irksnmeness of Belgrade began tn pnll upon Consul Moorehend. He applied for and was appointed to another more congenial consular station. In the end old King Peter got down ofj his I' teh horse. He was compelled to receive the Minister Mr, Knowles' (net In flint affair won him advancement in the diplo matic service. Hence tho coincidence of the nnmes of Tvlnir Peter nnd liftmen G TCnnivlou n . news columns at the same time. t THE PICTURES OP THIS FIGHT PROBABLY WILL BE WIDELY SHOWN ' round , tt MAKF-r, ,);;. "pvy it WMd-L ( ) PV, --?&( CT )" NOW MY IDEA IS THIS Daily Talks With Thinking Philadelphians Knmv Best ALBERT M. GREENFIELD On the Realty Situation PHILADELPHIA real estate prices and values nre tending toward a new nor mnl, according to Albert M. Greenfield, n prominent renl estate man of this city. This means, said Mr. Greenfield, that the values nnd rentals of dwelling houses hnve come to or aro near n permanent basis that will mark something more than n half-way point between pre-war prices and the peak prices following the nrnilstico, A slight drop both in prices of construction and rcutnlfi is been bv him early In the year, probably in the spring. On the other hand, central realty will not only hold Its present vnlucs, but must in evitably ndvancc, he says. "To get tlie proper psychology of the situation," said Mr. Greenfield, "it must be understood that this city was hefore the war lu the unique situation of being below nor mal in prices of dwellings. There wns at that time a surplus of houses of about 110.000 over the normal demand. From 10,000 to l.'.OOO houses yearh were being constructed, and ns the Increase In population did not keep pace with this progress, prices natu rally fell below normal. "The owner consequently found himself compelled to sell often at a loss, nnd as it wns difficult to sell he hud to n nt for what ever rent he could get. It was an economy to rent n house below the rute that It should bring rather than leave It vacant exposed to the ravages of weather, the vandalism of small hoys and other forms of deterioration that go with vncant properties. Got Used to Old Rentals "So people got used to these rentuls, which meant a loss to the owner, und iu time came to'regard them ns normal. "Then cnnie the win- with consequent shortage of production. Men and materials were iu demand, as was also money. It did not take long for the building business to slump. This, together with a great influx of outsiders, took up the shortage und finally reversed the condition until we hud 30,000 fewer houses than were needed to house our population. "With the Inexorable law of supply and demand nt work, prices natiirulh went up. The cost of lnbor and materials went up nnd up. nnd Inter assessments nnd taxes, to gether with water rents and nil other carry ing charges, advanced. Taxes, in fact, have practically doubled since the war period. "While the prices of other things thnt the householder had to buy udvance-' several times their pre-war rates tlint of realty went up to ns high ns l.'.O per cent over that time. But in most cases the ndvances on other goods In dollars and cents wns a compaintlvely small item: that of rental represented the largest single item in his budget. ( onseouentU, he fi It it heavily and the cry of profiteering went up. "But while there were isolated cases of profit erlng unions landlords, for the most pnrt it was more nppnient than reul. The tenant wns renllv puylng but little more than the normal rates should havo been ull along. Salaried Man Suffers "The man with the fixed salary, who has perhaps leieivcd a cut in ncent months, has suffered. Ho cannot make ends meet nnd naturally these hlh prices seem unjust. Ho will not renllv he able to como Into his own until the adjustment is (ompleted nnd nil the factors that went to raise his costs have been brought hack to normal. When thev nre. in a few yenrs ho muy see n rensonuble reduction in costs. "Naturally the builder will shortly make mi effort, to relieve the congestion and will doubtless make up tho shortage in houses But at thnt prices will never descend to the ore-war level nnd he will never mmi,, .,..- mlt n surplusage of buildings to exist such as nrniigiii mm iienvy losses in the curlier dnjs, "One important factor that nffects adjust ment of this situation is the condition of the money miuket and the attitude of our hanks and other tlniiiicial agencies. Money is In demand und when jou consider Ihut hanks are tilde to realize 7, 71,! nnd 8 per cent bv Investing in other securities, they nro not willing to Invest In mortgages thnt bring them about (1 per cent. "As public Institutions handling the pub lic's money, thev should havo enough in terest in the public welfare to make some iirovlsion for future hiilldlnp. even nt n bus, It should nlso be remembered that renl estate is not the fluctuating Investment that securi ties nre und a loss in principul often wipes out gains in Interest, "A great deal of tnonev. too, Is tied up for mnny years in Liberty Bonds, nnd it will take considerable time for this money gone out of the market to be restored. All of these conditions tend to mako new build- l., illffleiilt. it inus moo oo consiaerea mat, while JL lliJli IN Hi A 1 VyAlVlJTAllxll on Subjects They materials havo decreased in price and some lnbor hns been cut. bn'lding labor is tho highest paid in tiie market today. It will have to come down to n rcnsonnblc normal hefore there will be any real In centive for the builder to construct on any large scale. "At that, I look to see n decrease iu prices of houses, thnt is, u slight decrease by spring, nnd with it n corresponding reduc tion In rentals. "Ccntrnl renltv is. however, a different proposition. This city has less space nnd greater demnnd fnr this section thnn nnv other city in the Union. For yenrs it has been the case, and will continue tn be. that ccntrnl rcnlty must inevitably advance in value. There is, In fact, nn advance of from II to 10 per cent annually. The ex traordinary conditions of recent venrs have boomed it tremendously and this ndvonco will not recede. "On our princlpnl central thoroughfares, for instance, nt the present time, it is Im possible to rent space. High-class retailers enn only get space in this section bv pur chasing n lease from somebody who holds one, generally nt a handi-nmo figure. Business Sections Will Grow f7!' 1"a,,irn1l Bwwth of the city will nlso tend to keep these figures growing. In the Hn 'Vn? .'"'"'n, ."wtlnns the same condi tion on degree will hold ,:,. Kn,)i(l transit, which s growing, enhances these vnlucs. lie future transit improvements will de- c ilv will f ' . rl,,fc: S ,nn1y vlsitors to fl,c city, will develop Mill another business sec grow in'vnlue. 1,rI,cr,J' ,,nd '" t to ct',' U i,,n'v nnlurnl to look for n con stant growth real estate values , T the e sections-, uj.leh , , U ' "" p nn,;X!,",mI0c'1'-nre U'veif-Hr dependable nud s,mml ,,, J", nhlj'. An Unenviable Position From the iNifruru-h rjatt-Tlm... reTurnor;1 1 "''-"'".-" What Do You Know? QUIZ 'Vrrrn f ' Serbs. Jarth-,h0 estlnmtcu Population of the DytnVeh,btn,.U"n"Sta';,5ro '1 In "Xau .n'XVe!'1 Wh"" h.r What Is tho longest-llverl of birds? Uhen was gold discovered i California? Answers to Yesterday'a Qui Spain has been ofllclillv r,..... ., Intel ests ' tho IJn ,,,1 , ?eMt n ,1, many sin" 0 seVn.,,cl,eH,l".fJ'r matlc relations In 1917 f U1"10- ea.ugua, os,.lSX0rnd'n,1-' N1' When Venus Is tho mornin,, ''"'' sometimes ealled Lucifer K ,nr U ' Rinderpest Is cuttle-plague ' UllSwer1,l,,mmoo,lhu'1llame,,tof A protoplasm Is n. semi.flui,! ... i . transparent sub-tafu"' con'sis n.r-lcss; oxygon, hydiOKcii. caibon '"Ki. ' gen, the basis of life ,? .S" "'lro: uiilmals. ' '" I'lants and Tho word mezzanlno s from th itnii,. "mzzun no," dlmlmitK,, i 5 'tallan half, uiiiiiimmo of "mezzo," Alexander Ornham Hell t,fi i..... the telephone, is "' ,' ?vnV?" '"r,"' buigh, .Scotland. llVe of ''-'"'l- The Katmai region of Alaska hn i. the scene of the most "a" ?lV ?i(.bcc." dlstu. Lance of the last decade 1CU"lu Tho Hadducees were members of a Jew. Ish sect or party at the tint Xr m..i ! that denied1 the "-esurrec on of 'the arof4,r,oifii"iV ?tUC&7i&ft-Z SHORT CUTS Add Powerful Legends Penrose. "Longchntnps reports even shorter skirts." Is It possible? May nil the expenses of the hat business be considered as overhead V Though Russia Is starving today, she Is all fed up on unbalanced rations. Senutor Rccd is now in a position to appreciate tho weakness of over-statement. Whnt chance will there be for the strong arm If the Mayor puts his foot on It? Argument with a slum landlord Is al ways a waste of time, lie Is never right In his premises. Whnt knavery can't hope to gnin still foolishness supplies. When the wise man fulls to register he really isn't wise. Unless our citizens wake up and use their heads und legs, the iishcnrt guug will rule the roust as sure as yeggs uie jeggs. In justice to the big rnllrouds it must be remembered thut what llenry Ford did witli his ruilt'oud wus dune without Government "regulation." "Director, muy I go out to swim?" "Why, jts, 1 think jou oughter," sa.s Dr, Fuibush List to him! "but lie sure and boll the water." In order to delay hardening of the at tcrles, says u French physician, eat garlic. It may not win out, but It will at leuot put up n strong argument. Word comes from Snult Stc. Murle that a former Governor of Michigan has killed I hear with his bare lunula, No ordluary story this. It's a bear. "Do you Intend to violute tho Fourth Amendment iu order to enforce the Eight eenth?" demands the Semite. "1'ou caa search mo!" replies the House. French doctors say that the use of alcohol and cigarettes is causing the growth of whiskers on women's faces. This ma cause some feminists to lcpent prohibition. An Atlantic City woman hns been di vorced from her husbaud because he refused to live otherwhere tlmn on n inolorboiit. m the matrimonial nmrket he prefers a put-put to a cull-call. Militarists are secretly hoping that Greut Britain's four new battle cruisers, this (ountry's six new Lexingtons und tM warships under construction in .lupun l"i combined, be able to shoot the Disarmament Conference full of holes. From Spnrtnnsburg. S, C , comes tl store of a bloodhound tlint broke all l'l'CCi th cee- dent bv failing to lose the scent le Negro being chased waited for it to cutcn up, then tied It to u tree nnd continued Ml journey. The When Hooch Is hero of a talc thnt full of dening do his henchmen, '" may well believe, tire utter revenue. And bj that self-suhie token strong at certain tline nnd place the "revenue" getb ufter them ( witness local cabe). INVOCATION AWAKE, thou slumberer fair! Peans of joy on incense-laden wins' Attend thy pleasure: ' In sylvan glades where first tho south-blown nlr . ,. Incites thy drowning soul with fervw whisperings There bhull uwult tlieo flowers and fcstooni ruro In lavish measure ; And, redolent, a robe of living green . To drupe thy dryad charms with scraps bheen ! Spirit of Spring, awake! ,, At thy advent a million throats shall "ii In ruptured trilling, , ,, The night of winter's sullen wnnd to breax. And the gray shudows of thy musing dream illsoel With passion thrilling: ,, Soft winds shall fan and fitful showers nttenu And joyous sunshine change thy tears w nilrtli, , . Tho moon by night her sllv'ry torch ew To join In hymning thy renascent birth 1 Alice Kathryn Gould In the Montreal Vi . ' 8 mar, . ' kM... . :,".jij. itfJiS " y h i. ... -.i '.i ,tj" if If.&.r- UU3I. "i& .. i ' ,'v, r-v$' t