Evening Star
- 20 nations adopt slavery protocol; League adjourns
- New York Republicans, split by Prohibition, strive for peace
- Parks advocated to speed clean-up below the Avenue
The League closes its assembly with a slavery convention signed by 20 governments and promised signatures from 26 more. In New York, Prohibition threatens to divide Republicans over Senator Wadsworth’s leadership. Washington planners propose buying the federal building district at once, erecting five buildings—three already funded—and leaving lawns on the remaining ground.
Translation
20 nations adopt slavery protocol; League adjourns
GENEVA, September 25.—“The League of Nations will one day be universal”—these were the last and prophetic words uttered by President Ninchitch as he adjourned, without date, the seventh assembly of the League, which opened its sessions on September 6.
“Germany’s entry into the League,” he declared, “has forever silenced those adversaries of international understanding who have complained that the League embraced only a portion of the nations of the world, and especially those nations which are not torn by difficulties of vital importance.
“We have witnessed great events,” President Ninchitch said. “We have seen nations who have been divided in hideous strife sit side by side and labor together under a common ideal of voluntary obedience to the League covenant.”
Plea for Arms Parley.
The president urged all the members to apply themselves vigorously to two outstanding tasks of the League, namely, to assure the success of the projected international disarmament conference and the economic conference. “General and loyal disarmament will gain for the League of Nations the whole-hearted support of all peoples,” he asserted.
One of the last acts of the assembly was the adoption of a slavery convention, which was signed immediately by the plenipotentiaries of 20 governments, including Portugal and Abyssinia, which are most affected. The representatives of 26 other nations agreed to sign by Monday.
The convention calls for the prevention and suppression of the slave trade and the complete abolition of slavery in all its forms. It also declares that compulsory or forced labor should not be resorted to unless it becomes impossible to obtain voluntary labor.
New York Republicans, split by Prohibition, strive for peace
NEW YORK, September 25.—Political history that may be national in effect is to be written at the Republican State convention opening here tomorrow morning. Two years ago the Democratic party, nationally, went on the rocks in the old Madison Square Garden. Tomorrow the Republicans tempt fate in the new Madison Square Garden.
As the delegates to the Republican convention gather here tonight there is much doubt and bitterness. The rock on which the Republican bark threatens to split is prohibition.
The underlying issue in the struggle among the Republicans is whether Republican party leadership in the Empire State shall be wet or dry.
Drys Claim Preponderance.
The drys say emphatically that the Republican party of New York State must be dry. Many of them, certainly the professional drys, are willing to cast Senator James W. Wadsworth, a Republican leader of the Senate and at present State leader, into the outer limbo in order to prevent the wet element retaining the party leadership in this State. The drys insist that man for man and woman for woman, the dry Republicans considerably outnumber the wet Republicans in this State.
They do not want, they say, the tail to wag the dog. That is one excuse that will be given for throwing over Senator Wadsworth.
These drys, who are backing State Senator Franklin W. Cristman for the senatorial nomination against Wadsworth and will run him as an independent in the general election in November, while not saying it publicly, would prefer to have Robert F. Wagner, who is slated for the Democratic senatorial nomination, even though he is a wet, too, elected to the Senate for the next six years rather than have Wadsworth triumph and continue as leader of the Republican party in New York.
Wadsworth Is Target.
Democratic party leadership in New York is lost to the drys. They know it. This makes it all the more important from their point of view to hold the Republican party dry and to prevent it from being swallowed up also by the “wet interests.” They visualize control of the Republican party by the wets in New York as a possible starting point for a great drive to have the Republican party throughout the country espouse the wet cause. So they are centering their heaviest artillery in New York this campaign and their target is Senator Wadsworth.
Parks advocated to speed clean-up below the Avenue
Not only have administration leaders, including President Coolidge and members of his cabinet, committed themselves to the plan advanced by Secretary Mellon at the last meeting of the Public Buildings, National Capital Parks and Planning and Fine Arts Commissions for immediate purchase of all of the privately owned land in the triangle between Pennsylvania avenue and the Mall, but it is proposed that the public buildings to be erected in this area shall not be closely congested, but entire squares and triangles be left open for lawn and park development.
This will mean an attractive development of the entire triangle area, which for more than 25 years has been an eyesore in the most conspicuous part of the Capital City, within the next three to five years under the $50,000,000 public building program, instead of having to wait another 10 to 25 years for complete occupancy of this area by costly buildings.
According to the plan now being worked upon the incoming session of Congress will be asked to approve not only the immediate purchase of the privately owned land, but that the entire triangle be at once developed by the erection of five new buildings, for three of which appropriations have already been made, and the rest of the space thrown into grass plots which will give these buildings a proper setting. It had previously been expected that the privately owned squares would be acquired piecemeal over a long term of years and that the Capital would have to await a complete development until funds were available for ten or a dozen buildings.
With a decision reached to place the new $10,000,000 home for the Department of Commerce on the sites heretofore allocated to the prospective new buildings for the Departments of Justice and Labor, it is now intended to place these new departmental buildings, which are to be the next batch to be recommended to Congress, on the two sites now occupied by the center or retail market and the wholesale market. As the Department of Justice needs a much larger building than the Department of Labor, it is probable that the Justice building will be placed between 9th and 10th streets, facing Pennsylvania avenue and running back to B street, and that the new Labor building will be on the present Center Market site.
However, there is a possibility that the District Government may be given one of these new buildings and placed on the Center Market site. The present District Building, which is recognized as one of the most beautiful structures in the Capital, would be given to some other activity, possibly the Department of Labor.
Context
Abolition still left room for forced labour
The convention translated an abolitionist promise into obligations covering slavery and the slave trade. Article 1 defined slavery through the exercise of powers associated with ownership; Article 2 required progressive abolition. Its treatment of forced labour was narrower than an immediate ban: Article 5 allowed public-purpose labour and transitional exceptions elsewhere. The Star’s brief account of voluntary labour therefore did not convey all the treaty’s qualifications. That distinction matters when reading this celebratory closing-session report: adoption marked an international commitment, while governments retained responsibility for implementing it and substantial coercive practices remained within the treaty’s exceptions.
Why Germany’s admission seemed to change the League
Ninchitch’s confidence belonged to a moment when the League appeared to be overcoming the divisions left by the First World War. Germany’s admission in 1926 brought a former enemy into regular cooperation with other powers and helped sustain the diplomatic optimism associated with Geneva. Yet the United States, whose president Woodrow Wilson had promoted the League, remained outside after the Senate rejected the treaty and covenant in 1920. For the Star’s Washington readers, the promise of eventual universality thus had a direct American relevance: Germany had entered an institution their own country had declined to join.
Why defeat could appeal to party loyalists
“Wet” and “dry” described opposition to, or support for, Prohibition. The Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale and transportation of intoxicating liquor; the Volstead Act provided enforcement machinery. Organized temperance activism made the issue a test of political allegiance, while enforcement faced widespread resistance. Lincoln’s report describes a struggle over who would control the Republican organization. Some dry Republicans could therefore prefer a Democratic victory to preserving Wadsworth’s leadership: losing a Senate seat might, in their calculation, prevent their own party from becoming the vehicle for a national anti-Prohibition campaign.
The reformer behind Wagner’s candidacy
Robert Wagner appears here chiefly as the Democrat whom some dry Republicans might tolerate to displace their own leader. His political record extended beyond the liquor question. From 1911 to 1915 he chaired New York’s factory investigation committee, examining the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and other industrial dangers. That work strengthened his commitment to social reform. Elected to the U.S. Senate later in 1926, he would help shape Social Security and the National Labor Relations Act in 1935. The latter protected workers’ organization and collective bargaining, giving the Senate career beginning in this election consequences well beyond Prohibition.
Why open ground could hasten the federal district
The 1926 Public Buildings Act authorized $50 million for federal construction in Washington. It gave practical force to the monumental federal precinct envisaged by the McMillan planning tradition. Kennedy’s proposal sought to buy the whole area promptly but build only part of it, using lawns to make the remainder presentable. Administrative consolidation added urgency: by 1926 Commerce occupied ten separate buildings. Its eventual new headquarters opened in 1932. The article captures an earlier, still negotiable stage, when the distribution of departments, market sites and open space had yet to settle into the later Federal Triangle.
Why several commissions had a say
The building proposal brought together agencies concerned with different parts of the same city. The McMillan Plan, issued in 1902, linked the Mall, monumental federal buildings and a public park system. Congress created the Commission of Fine Arts in 1910 to protect that planning vision. A separate park commission followed in 1924; in 1926 its remit widened to city and regional planning, including land use and transportation. The article’s joint consultations therefore involved both architectural appearance and the arrangement of urban space. Decisions about offices, lawns and market sites affected a larger plan, while construction still depended on congressional funding.
Original
20 NATIONS ADOPT SLAVERY PROTOCOL; LEAGUE ADJOURNS
GENEVA. September 25.—" The
League of Nations wili one day he
Universal"- these were the last and
prophetic words uttered by President
Mnrhitch as he adjourned, without
date, the seventh assembly of the
League, which opened its sessions on
September 6.
"Germany’s entry into the League,”
h* declared, "has forever silenced
those adversaries of International un
derstanding who have complained that
the League embraced only a portion
of the nations of the world, and es
peelally those nations which are not
torn by difficulties of vital importance.
"We have witnessed great events.”
T>-esid*nt N'inchltch said. "We have
s»*n nations who hate been divided in
hideous strife sit side by side and labor
together under a common ideal of vol
untary obedience to the League
covenant.”
Pies for Arms Parley.
The president urged all the members
apply themselves vigorously to two
outstanding tasks of the League,
namely, to assure the success of the
projected International disarmament
cont'erem and the economic confer
ence. General and loyal disarmament
will rain tor the League of Nations
th» whole hearted support of all peo
ples." h» asserted.
r»ne of the last acts of the assembly
was the adoption of a slavery con
s’ention. which was signed immediate
ly by the plenipotentiaries of 20 gov
ernments. including Portugal and
Abyssinia, which are most affected.
The representatives of 26 other na
tions agreed to sign by Monday.
The convention calls for the pre
vention and suppression of the slave
trade and the complete abolition of
slavery In all its forms. It also de
clares that compulsory or forced labor
ehould not he resorted to unless it
becomes impossible to obtain volun
tary labor.
NEW YORK G.O.P., SPLIT BY DRY LAW, STRIVES FOR PEACE
NEW YORK. September 25.—Polit
ica! history that may be national in
effect is to be written at the Repub
lican Stale (imv. mion opening nere
tomorrow morning:. Two years ago
the Democratic party, nationally, went
on the rocks in the old Madison Square
Garden. Tomorrow the Republicans
tempt fate in the new Madison Square
Garden.
As the delegates to the Republican
convention gather here tonight there
is much doubt and bitternes. The
r.*ck on which the Republican bark
threatens to split is prohibition.
The underlying issue in the struggle
j among the Republicans is whether
i Republican parti leadership in the
I Empire State shall be wet or dry.
Dry* Claim Preponderance.
The drye say emphatically that the
Republican party of New York State
j must be dry. Many of them, certainly
j the professional drys, are willing to
[cast Senator James 55'. 5\ adsworth,
j a Republican leader of the Senate and
at present State leader, into the outer
i limbo in order to prevent the wet
element retaining the party leader
ship in this State. The drys insist
that man for man and woman for
woman, the dry Republicans consider
ably outnumber the wet Republicans
in this State.
They do not want, they say, the
tail to wag tlie dog- That is one ex
cuse that will be given for throwing
over Senator 55'adsworth.
These drys, who are lacking State
Senator Franklin 55'. Cristman for
the senatorial nomination against
55'adsworth and will run him as an
independent in the general election
jin November, while not saying it
I publicly,, would prefer to have Robert
i F. sVagner, who is slated for the
j Democratic senatorial nomination.
even though he is a net. too. elected
i to the Senate for the nexr six years
rather than have 55'adsworth triumph
and continue as leader of the Repub
lican party in New York.
Wadsworth Is Target.
Democratic party leadership in New
York is lost to the drys. They know
it. This makes it all the more im
portant from their point of view to
hold the Republican party dry and
;to prevent it from being swallowed
lup also by the "wet interests." They
visualize control of the Republican
party by the wets in New York as a
possible starting point for a great
drive to have the Republican party
j throughout the country espouse the
wet cause. So they are centering
I their heaviest artillery in New York
j this campaign and their target is
Senator 55'adsworth.
PARKS ADVOCATED TO SPEED CLEAN-UP BELOW THE AVENUE
Not only have administration lead
ers. including President Coolidge and
members of his cabinet, committed
themselves to the plan advanced by
Secretary Mellon at the last meeting
of the Public Buildings, National
Capital Parks and Planning and Fin*
Arts Commissions for Immediate pur
chase of all of the privately owned
land in. the triangle between Pennsyl
vania avenue and the Mall, but It Is
proposed that the public buildings to
be erected In this area shall not be
closely congested, but enttre squires
and triangles be left open for lawn
and park development.
This will mean an attractive de
velopment of the entire triangle area,
which for more than 25 years has
been an eyesore in the most conspic
uous part of the Capital City, within
the next three to five years under the
$50,000,000 public building program,
instead of having to wait another 10
to 25 years for complete occupancy
of this area by costly buildings.
According to the plan now being
worked upon the incoming session of
Congress will be asked to approve not
only the immediate purchase of the
privately owned land, but that the en
tire triangle be at once developed by
the erection of five new buildings, for
three of which appropriations have
already been made, and the rest of the
space thrown into grass plots which
will give these buildings a proper set
ting. It had previously been expected
that the privately owned squares
would be acquired piecemeal over a
long term of years and that the Cap
ital would have to await a complete
development until funds were avail
able for ten or a dozen buildings.
With a decision reached to place the
new $10,000,000 home for the Depart
ment of Commerce on the sites here
tofore allocated to the prospective new
buildings for tlie Departments of Jus
tice and Labor, It is now Intended to
place these new departmental build
ings Which are to be the next batch
to recommended to Congress, on the
two sites now occupied by the center
or retail market and the wholesale
market. As the Department of Jus
tice needs a much larger building than
the Department of Labor, it is prob
able that the Justice building will be
placed between Ninth and Tenth
streets, facing Pennsylvania avenue
and running back to B street, and that
the new Labor building will be on the
present Center Market site.
However, there is a possibility that
the District Government may be given
one of these new buildings and placed
on the Center Market site. The pres
ent District Building, which is recog
nized as one of the most beautiful
structures in the Capital would be
given to some other activity, possibly
the Department of Labor.
Source: Holding institution