The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, May 29, 1919, Page 1

: a er ere gt A aS ‘seve 3 evident! arr S IBUNE THIRTY-NINTH YEAR. NO. 122. PRICE FIVE CENTS MANAHAN PAILS 10 GET PROMPT. MERGER ACTION Railway Commission Denies to Immediately Grant ‘Com- bine’s Application VALUATIONS ‘TOO HIGH Milhollan Thinks Hughes vtont ROMANTIC TRIAL Worth $150,000 Less Than Price Fixed ; ron titty ene scot, SUPREME COURT sonal counsel for President A. C;, Townley of the National Nonpartisan league,’ who declared the ‘combine; Wilton Family Awarded Legal which the North Dakota Heat, Light & ‘Power Co. seéks to effect, is in ling with “the new day in North Dakota,” the North Dakota railway commmssio: Wednesday ovening very positively denied. the motion of ‘Mr. Manahan that the application of the petitioner for power to merge and to capitalize at.$2,775,000 be-granted jn full. The order of the railway commis- sion, handed down late Wednesday evening after two days;devoted py Mr. Manahan. to the examingtion of expert witnesses, was as follows: “The motion of. the petitioner that the: application ‘be. accepted in siftilh peel tike Nanuet a ising the cones B, spe ae igsuange, of securities, as,cantat in. the, applt. cation, is- denied, for the’ follow reasons: 2 i “First: . It is the unanimous opin- fon of ‘the commission that the pur- chase prices’in’ all instances as rep- resented by the present value arrived at by the engineers of the ‘petitioner are excessive and out of line’ with’ com- mission practice and policy. “Second: The commission declines to issue an order on this matter at this time until after a careful exam- ination of the transcript can be-made and the, evidence reviewed.” 5 Loo. Manahan .Displeased. “The finding of the rail board was as displeasing to Mr. Manahan as it’ jurprising. Mr.’ Mana- e railway. ane -Good Nonpartisan | ints it might have been influenced t ackdoor methods;” that it might have considered evidence, or “insin- ations” which the petitioner had not had. an opportunity to try out. Com- missioners: Agndahl, Dupuis ahd Mil- hollan, individually and collectively, and :with not @ little asperity, cor- rected Mr. Manahan on this point, as- suring him that they had‘no cards, up their sleeves, . Manahan continued to refer to “idle gossip,” “sinister, purposes,” and ‘“dis- honest motives” which. he © feared might have had, some effect on the commission’s decision, He declared that even he had been approached by good friends with information. rela-| tive to the value of certain, plant> which ‘he’ ha ‘Absolutely false, and’ that * | ri ss thanked’ hin’ Yor ‘setting them. ‘right. He ‘declared’ all ‘ot’ this “information had been’ traced to one source. ..He informed the’commission that it could not arrive at accurate values through hearsay or insinuation. musts Willing to *Knock Off. Attorney Moore of St. Paul, repre- senting F..O. Corson, one of the prime movers in the Dakota power consolidation, attempted to probe the| commission as to the exteht of thd valuations which it held excessive in order that he might go back. to the vendors and ask them to knock off something on their origina) price. Chairman Aandah! éeclared the valu- ations of the Bismarck and James- town: plants included in the proposed mbine- very excessive. Commis- sioner Milhollan went.so far as to ae-| seft that he *believed the. Bismarck plant, figured in at $500,000, was over- valued probably $150,000, and not less. than : $100,000, 5 Attorney Moore, starting with » suggestion thatthe $100,000 commor, stock included in the deal might be eliminated, increased his tentative questions to cover'$150,000 and finally $325,000, in aneffort to pin the com- mission down to some certain amount which it felt represented the excess valuation, but he was unsuccessful. Chairman Aandah! would go no éur- ther than to aasert that some of the values were Wery excessive. Com- missioner Dupuis would at this time, declaring the present hearing closed: ‘Nor could the com- mission be induced to promise that it would render a decision in 48 hours,'tno gsob-wrécked ‘woman who had in spite of the fact that Attorney Moore stated that some of the cor- poration’s option® were ‘ston to ex-| pire, and that unless the attitude of the commission was revealed, the company might not care to renew thes options. “It looks as tho you are trying to crowd us; gentlemen,” said Chairnian Aandahl, and ‘he stood pai From: Fargo. L. D. Richardson of Fargo, general manager of the North Dakota Inde- pendent Telephone Co., was an arriv- al in the city yesterday to attend to matters of business, leaving today for Mandan. While in the Capital city he was ® guest-at-the Grand: Pacific. 7 jaittle tl’ Anna’ Beckwoid. was a sprightly permit th the little girl, from the Duttons. Mr. introduction: of ‘no. furthgr’ evidence| ang Mrs. Dutton produced the beauti- 80 MISSING IN: EXPLOSION OF MUNITION DUMP London, May 29.—As a result of a fire in a building occupied by. American troops in the Cob- lenz district and the explosion of a munition dump yesterday, 80 men are missing, ling toa Cologne dispatch. A later dispatch from Cologne says | that the fire and explosion occurred near the frontier o fthe Bavarian Pala- tinate, which is in the French area of occupation, TERMINATES IN Custody of Little Girl They Adopted as Babe INTERNATIONAL INTEREST Love Affair ‘Tragic’ But “They Were Married and Lived Happily Ever After” The- sights of.a foster mother to a whose first childish prayers \wexe Usped at her knee; whose moth- Lerhood,.was ‘the only one that her adopted daughter knew, were upheld by the supreme court of North Dakota yaterday when it affirmed a decision of Judge W..L. Nuessle in district court in the action brought’by Anna ®Beckwold Larson for the recoyery of Yher little daughter, adopted from a Fargo maternity hospital, when only @ few days old, by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Dutton of Wilton. The case is one of the most roman- tic that has ever been brought to the attention of the supreme’ court, and the opinion of the court, whitten’ by Chief Justice A- M. Christianson, an the especially concurring opinion o! justice J. E. Robinson are real liter- ature. Justices; Bronson and Grace dissent. i Paramount Considerations. the custody of a child the paramount consideration is the child’s welfare; that a habeas corpus proceeding is not 'triable.anew: in. this court; and: that where the findings in’a habeas corpus proceedings are based on parole evi- less they* are shown to ‘be clearly. wrong. * History of Case. maid of Christiania when she met at a party Bjorne Larson, a gallant sailor lad. They discovered a mutual attrac: ‘tion, and when a day or two ‘later Bjorne was’ called to Germany'to‘em- bark for China, where a position at ed him, Anna accepted his invitation to accompany him to Berlin for .a holiday. There they spent the night. ‘A few months later Anna discovered she was about to become a mother. Rather than have her family disgraced she scraped together enough money to come to America, where she had a cousin in the Dakotas, Here she found employment asa domestic, and here her child was born in a Fargo matern- ity home, where Anna, having been in- formed by her cousin that it would be difficult for her to find employment with a baby on her hands, signed away all rights to her little daughter. In this home a few, days later the Dut- tons found the baby girl and: adopted her,,-They bad been fifteen. years married, were. childless, and the fair- haird, little babe immediately assumed an important place ‘in: their home at Wilton. igi ” | xdvinée Father. It was not until about thig time that Anna, who had been cokresponding with Bjorne/ advised him that he had become a father. ‘There had been no thought or discussion of marriage dur- ing\that Berlin holiday. Bjorne, how- ever, immediately ‘displayed a fatherly and proprietary interest in his little daughter. His next letter brought a substantial draft, and plans for his coming to Amrica, for his marriage with Anna and for the future of their child. “Anna did not disclose in her later letters to Bjorne that she had given their daughter away. It was not until advice finally came that Bjorne, with money a-plenty for the establish- ment for a home, was en route to America that} Anna appears to have been fully impressed with the predica- ment in which she, was placed. Explanation Forced. Bjorne came on; Anna was forced to explain. Bjorne seems to have been somewhat of'a man. He insist- ed that the marriage should proceed, and that they then seek to recover their little daughter. There was a wed- ding. The child was traced to the Dutton homey Action was brought by habeas corpus in the Burleigh county district court to. wrest possession of ful little lass in court, where she sat clasped. to the breast of her foster mother, having not ‘even a glance for borne her. Mrs. Larson’s contention (Continued on Page Eight.) WYOMING UNIONISTS \ PROTEST IMPORTING OF MEXICAN LABOR ‘Sheridan, Wyo., May 29.—The Sher- idan county trades and labor assem- bly, ina message to Edward P. Tay- lor, federal labor agent at Cheyenne, voiced a protest against the proposed {mportation into this country of 200 Mexicans to work in the beet fields. The protest is based on the grounds "The court holds, that in determining |'M dence’ thy’ Will-riot be “disturbetkun=)o-- 5: MEMORIAL _. The day which'we'consecrate’to the memory of our dead is again at hand. Today it comes to us with a new signifi- cance, sanctified with the memories of the braye boys who have gone from us during the last year and who. never will return: in this life. We’owe it to them jive owe\it ta the heroes who {| fell in the war of 1898, and to the saviourg of our country who rendered the supreme sacrifice from 1861 to 1865, and i we owe it to their comrades who have survived them and who are with us today, to make this a day of solemn consecration, of A renewel of our sacred pledge of fealty:to‘our country and our flag. she? Hh Gay Therefore, as president of the city conimission of Bis- marck, I ask in the name of all of these, that the capital city tomorrow unite in a faithful observance of the spirit as well as the outward semblance of: Memorial day: -{ urge that busi- ness of every kind be suspended at-noon; that everyone be given ‘an opportunity to attend the splendid Memorial program which has been prepared for the Auditorium’ at 2:30, and that all-avail themselves of this opportunity. ei } A. W. LUCAS, President, Bismarck City. Commission. ‘DAY: PROCLAMATION PRESIDENT WILSON SENDS. SPROIAL MEMORIAL. DAY. ~~ MESSAGE 10. AMERICANS Washington, May 29.—President Wilson has cabled the fol-| lowing‘Memorial day message to the Arnona OPE: : “My(Fellow Countrymen: Memorial.Dey.this year wears,an added, significance,,and I wish, to, take part. with you ints celebra- |: tions. In.observing, the day.we commemorate not only the:reynion of, oursiown’ country, ibut, also'the'deliveration of the world font one of the worst dangers to which men were ever exposed. Our thoughts and purposes are,now consecrated to the maintenance of the liberty of the world and the union of its people ina single comradeship of liberty. and of rights) It was this for which the Americans offered their lives,. We must never forget the duty that their sacrifice has laid upon.us of,fulfilling their hope and purposes to the utmost. This, it seems to me, is the impressive lesson, and the inspiring mandate of the day. , “WOODROW WILSON.” SALVATION ARMY "RAISES $13,000,000 New. York,*May 29.—The Salvation army's, campaign for a $13,000,000 ‘home service'fund has passed. its goal, ‘according to‘ latest reports ‘from' all Sections of the country. i es a i o ST ATE ‘ COURT isfied as to Legality of ae LANGER TAKING ACTION} Fargo, N. D., May 29—The. North a «Dakota Court of Daughters of Isabella i} was organized here yesterday. Offi- al i ing limbs, Th RG ANTZED coer “pages,” Other” install r 47 | ments followed this, and it was under- pee Jn Ab “<" BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA THURSDAY, MAY 29, 1919. TEUTONIC PRESS ATTACK COUNTER PEACE PROPOSAL “Suicide” Declares Pan-German Gazette; “Slavery Between Two Masters,” Post AUSTRIAN TERMS READ Adriatic Problems Seem to Be Adjusted by Making Fiume Independent; City Berlin. May 29.—According’ to a. eral strike situation seemed unchanged Seems UNCHANGED) REACHENGLAND Blazing Hot Weather Continues MEMORI AL D AY to Complicate Things for Winnipeggers : Landing at Plymouth Tomorrow Contemplated by Reed If Weather Permits Winnipeg, Man., May 29.—When the sympathetic striks of Winnipeg work- erg went into its third week at noon today there were several develop- ments in progress which indicated BIG RECEPTION PLANNED that the control of a few leaders was crushed. Many city employes who joined in the strike were included to- ; Paty A day in those seeking employment at British Ministry Will Receive Faunietpal otlices, American Air-Men at Royal ' Air Force Station Winnipeg, Man., May 29.—The gen- in Winnipeg this morning, ‘altho there was a persistent report that the strik-; Brest, May 29.—The United seml-official statement, the full indem-/ers were planning to offer a new| States naval seaplane NC-4 will nity which Germany proposes to pay in her counter peace proposals wil] be sums going to Belgium against ad- scheme of settlement. A The same blazing weather that has probably start from Lisbon. to- existed for several days past greeted| Morrow, weather permitting. members of the citizens’ committee | Lieut. Com. A. C. Reed, in charge vances by the allies, as well as prop-|when they reported for duty on the| of the craft, wishes to reach erty surrendered by the Germans. It is further conditioned upon terri-|the thermometer touched 92. James torial arrangement; that is, if the im- clean up garbage wagons. Yesterday England on Memorial day, ac- Winning, labor leader,, overcome by|cording to a wireless picked. up heat yesterday at a mass meeting,|here by. the U. S. S. George perial territory is reduced, the.aum to/was reported in normal condition to- Washington from the U. S. S be paid must be correspondingly dis-|day. tributed, Alsace-Lorraine. and Posen, for instance, bearing their proportion- ate shares, The conservative press of Berlin Mayor Charles F. Gray announced. The Rochester, at Lisbon. WEATHER CAUSES DELAY street car system is the only public| Plymouth, Eng., May 29.—Ad- utility which is completely tied up.| verge weather conditions at Lis- Street car service in Winnipeg will be resumed tomorrow or Saturday, condenins the counter,;:proposals, es-|The mayor announced “adequate’ pro- bon were the reason for the post- pecially the financial and: military con- cessions which are granted. The Pan-|crews. German Gazette brands the reply as “sui¢ide,” and thePost: says the Ger- ban people; are, c mned to slavery between two mast rs unt ‘a new Ger- many arrives to break the chains. AUSTRIAN TERMS READ. Paris, May 29.—The peace confer- ence convened in secret plenary ses- sion at 3 this afternoon to hear the terms of the peace treaty to be hand- edithe Austrial delegation. Andre Tardu of the French delegation read a summary of the terms. i Adriatic Settlement Certain. It was stated this morning that a settlement of the Adriatic question is now a certainty as a result of negotia- tions yesterday. Under these atrange- ménts: Fume will be an independent city; the Italians will receive certain of' the’ Dalmation islands, but will not get Sekra or Senebico. " Counter ‘Proposals Delivered. The‘counter proposals formulated by the German’ (delegation‘at;,Verpailles have. ‘been ‘delivered to xthe;French authorities." The proposals; probably will go before the council of four at this. morning’s session, Received in Installments. The German reply was received in e ,first installment stood that the delivery of the doou- ment would be completed within the time limit. The reply is written in German and bears the caption “Observations of German’ Delegates bn’ the eauateleas of tection” would be. furnished the car A It 18 expected citizen volun-|POnement of the tsart last night teers will take the first cars,from the | Of, the NC-4 for England, ac- barns. _ |, cording; to. word received:here. Postmaster McIntyre, Winnipeg; an- co Pb Se TAM Ay ‘ nouncet shore pelore Roomate he ‘Big Reception, Planned 0 t ta Bidietiatitay 4 workers at Regina have refused to Join| ./e"British ministry is) plan- the sympathetic strike. The strike of|Ming to give the American sea- railway clerks was termed a “fizzle.” plane.NC-4 and its crew a great eee reception. Three flying boats ¢ APIT AL CITY T0 and several seaplanes will go out to escort the plane unto ' the mooring station at the mouth of HONOR ITs HERO the Plymouth river.’ The Amer- icans will be guests at the royal ( air force station, probably on the A T AUDITORIUM day following their arrival. Commandef John H, Powers, Lt. 3 : | Commander A. C. Reed and Lt.’ Com Fine Memorial Program Ar- mander L. L. Bellender of the Ameri- can 1 ranged for 2:30-Friday Aft- I Casito, who Wen tiene nivel cere who ‘was formerly an admiral in the. Portuguese navy." °° erncon at City Theatre The municipal counlil of Lisbon to-. . dey igecided to award ‘a'/gold me 1" . othe aviators, The néwspapers' CHRISTI AN IN WILL SPBAK | long:articles expressing rlendahi val the United States and ‘all produced the’ phrase “‘You have done what ‘the Chief Justice of Supreme Court! Portugese did centuries ago, but they reached America by sea, while you -Oratén of DayarExcellent. ... reached Bortugal-by: ate * Musical Numbers , DR AUGHTSMEN a - The capital city|'will lay aside all 4 J N other considerationg tomorrow after- KEEP UP WITH ‘ il ee noon''to tinite ‘fn’ Memorial services in honor of its ‘head. The day's rites? will 250 Mexican dollars per month.await:|.; plication to Supreme Court. “for Alternative! Writ Immediately ‘following the receipt this morning of a letter from Secre- tary of State Hall, advising the gov- ernor and the industrial board that he: would not sign the Bank of North Da- kota bonds despite an opinign: from Attorney General Langer to the’ effect that the state could issue $2,000,000 in | paten in.1920 will’ be raised by popu- bank bonds without exceeding the con- stitutional unsecured debt limit, At- torney General Langer, on ‘his own in- itiative, began the preparation of an application for a writ of mandamus. It was expected that formal applica- tion, for such. writ, requiring ‘Hall: to; show cause, why he should not sign the Bank of North Dakota bonds, would be. made, this afternoon, as soon ‘as-.Mr. Hall returns from the southwestern part of the.state, where he has been engaged for.the last three days. It is expected that the court will set an early date for a hearing on this appli- cation. It is believed, however, that no matter how expeditiously the mat- ter may.be handled by the supreme court, from ten days to two weeks must elapse before a ruling can be ex: pected. ‘This will mean further delay iv the establishment of the Bank of} North Dakota, should the supreme court uphold Mr. Langer’s opinion. The constitution requires that bond- ed evidences of indebtedness shall be signed by the: governor and state} treasurer and attested by the secre-} tary of state. The governor and treas- urer had signed # million dollars’ worth ofsthe Bank of North Dakota bonds when Secretary of State’ Hall] served notice on them that he would not affix his signature until Attorney General Langer had passed on the le- gality of issuing these two mitiion dot} lars: wo=th of bonds without mortgage security. Mr. Hall caljed-attention,to. the fact’that the state already has a’ bonded indebtedness of $400,000 and that the constitution requires first |’ mortgage security for all bonded in- debtedndéss in excess of $2,000,000. He. asked whether the issuance of. two |’ million at this time, when. the state already has a bondd dbt -of- $400,000 would not rquire first mortgage se- curity. Attorney General Langer yes- terday ruled that the legislature had not taken into consideration existing bonded indebtedness, bugjhad intended the mortgage security to apply only to future bond issues, and he held that the state could legally issue the. two. million in“bank bonds. MINNEAPOLIS BUSINESS: MEN MAKE TRADE TOUR Minneapolis, Minn: May 31.—More than one hundred’ Minneapolis, bust- ness men, including jolesalers, job- bers, bankers, and mefi of other busi- uess interests, will come hére tomor- row for a tour of 60 towns in northerr and western Minnesota. The tour, which was planned by the Civic and that increased unemployment would be caused by the importation of labor, Commerce association here, first undertaken since 1916._ reparitig ? Own.) nittative Apslcers for! the new court are: Mri ‘gene Fenlon, Devils Lake, secretary; ‘}surer;,.Mrs. Karl ‘Paulson, Bismarck, the j4 ‘0: ‘Smith, Fargo, regent; ‘Mrs. iyaoile Peace.} fait POSTPONE. PRESENTATION Paris,:May 29.—It is reported that’ Sturgeon, |the presentation of the peace terms to the Austrian delegation has been post- poned until Monday. TREATY NOT COMPLETED Paris, May 29.—When the peace con- ference went into plenary session this Mrs. Frances McDonald, Mandan, trea- advocate; Mrs, Katherine ; Dickinson, advocate. Popular Subscriptions to Fin ance Party Chicago, May 29.—Funds for con-|afternoon to hear the Austrian peace ducting the democratic national cam-|treaty, it was hotified that the treaty had not been completed. centrations wil be trom, zm / BABY AINIS UNE ar persons. Wilbur W. Marshall of iowa, made: this: statement; today in an ad- ‘* dress, In 1916 when the plan of f\-| Hatton, N. D,, May 29.—The 2-yta> ‘nancing by popular ‘subscription was|old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Chris sid (ee 90>» total”of 800,000 subscrip- Norby of this’ city was hit and run tions were received.>?* 930 2010) down by a! freight train; the ‘engine jie teviewed the fimancial features] ond two freight cars ‘passed ovet the of:the:demoeratic: party:from’‘Samuel | child, yet she ‘was: only scratched J. Gilden to: Woodrew. Wilson, and {about the head.. .* merioned the methods used for rais:| The child. was playing on the track ing money -for political purposes in|and was not discovered’ by the en- former years. gineer till too late to stop. When he In the next, campaign the issue will | brought the train to a stop, howevef, be a record of the progressive achieve-|the ,baby was found lying between ments of the democratic party and|the rails, having been hit in such what the party proposes to do in the| manner that she was unhurt. except future, except for a few minor bruises. WANTED: FLOWERS BY THE BUSHEL FOR MEMORIAL DAY The committee in charge of the decoration of the Auditorium for the: Memorial services tonidrrow afternoon wants loads and loads of .flowers for the dressing of the stage and bal- cony. The committee has no fund for the pur- chase of flowers, and it must rely upon the patriotism. and generosity of citizens who will donate blooms from their home gardens. Blossoms of all kinds will be acceptable and most gratefully received, and-it is asked that their donors endeavor to deliver them at the ‘Auditorium NOT LATER THAN 9:30 TOMORROW .MORNING. .. We want to make this an especial Mem- orial day, consecrated to our boys who fell in the struggle for world freedom as well as to our heroes of older wars. : We feel that we can rely upon the co-operation of all Bismarck citi- zens who are in position to help, DECORATING COMMITTEE, MRS. O. R. BARNES, Chairman. ay ; pend operations at noon. begin .with the decoration of soldier graves in the two cemeteries in the morning, and the formal program will open in'the afternoon witha parade of veterans of America’s last three wars, patriotic and fraternal societies“ and civic organizations from the state armory to the Auditorium. Thé marchers will be led by the ‘Bismarck Elks’ band, dnd Grand Army veterans and members of the Women's Relief corps, in automobiles, will occupy the post of honor. Capt. A. A. Jones has called upon Loyd A. Spetz Post No. 1, American legion, and service men gen- erally to turn out in uniform and join in the parade, and it is expected that several hundred men in khaki will march. a i \ At the Auditorium, | Mrs. O. R. Barnes, chairman of' the ‘decorating committee, began’ toddy'the task of transforming the Avditorium into a floral bower. Her work?will be completed by 2:30' tomortow’ after- noon, when the Memorial services be- gin, and the big theatre will furnish a beautiful setting for the exercises. The program, as announced today ‘by Capt. E.G. Wanner, chairman of the general committee, will be as fol- lows; Chairman of the day—J. L. Bell. Invocation—Ensign' J. C. Bell.” “America’—The Audience, ' led by Community Choral club. ‘Quartette—“Boys of, the Old Bri” gade,” Messrs. ‘Humphreys, Graham, Halvorson and Wright. “Lincoln’s Gettysburgh Address,’ read by Miss Ruth Cordner. i ‘Solo—‘No Light There,” Mrs. Vic- tor J. LaRose. Reading—‘In Flanders’ Fields” (Mc- Rea) Miss Bergliot Caspary. Quartette—‘‘Mustered Out,” Messrs. Halvorson, Humphreys, Wright and Graham. “Send Out Thy Light,” (Gounod)— Community Choral club. \ Memorial address—Hon. A. M. {onristianson, chief justice of the North Dakota supreme court. “Old Hundred” (Doxology)—Com: | munity Choral club, with audience. “The Star Spaigled Banner’—Audi- ence. Legal Holiday. ‘Memorial day is a legal holiday. All federal, state, county and city build- ings and the banks will be closed all day. Other business houses will sus- An oppor- tunity will be given everyone to par- ticipate in the Memorial which will mean more to Bismarck this year than they ever have before. COMMERCIAL TRAVELERS TO GIVE DANCING PARTY Bismarck council, United Commer- cia] Travelers, today announced one of its popular shirt waist dancing parties for Saturday evening in the Elks’ tem- ple. All travelers nnd their friends who ive had invitations to previous, dances are urged to turn out and en- - PEACE MAKERS Probable Changes in World’s Map:Being Prepared as Con- ‘ ference Progresses ‘s NEW ECONOMIC REGIONS Paris, April 17, (Correspondence ot The Associated Press.)—Draughts- men have been: keeping the map of Europe abreast of the décisions of the Peace Conf&rence while its work has been going on, After, the peacemak- brs have finished their task mapmak- ers will still, have, more. work, to do J'récording interior changes. ja some ot the newly outlined countries, due to the upheaval of reconstruction, Changes have already. begun in France with a decree by M. Clementel, Minister of Commerce, setting up sev- enteen new “economic regions” in the republic. This is a first step toward the decentralization of the economic life of the country with the object of giving different sectidns that have di- verse interests wider scope for jocal initiative in the utilization of the re- sources that are particular to each of them. It may eventually develop in- to a most radical political reform. The new “economic’ regions” will have for their “capitals” Paris, Lille, Nancy, Marseilles, Bordeaux, Amiens, Rouen, Caen, Nantes, Brest, Limoges, Toulouse, Montpellier, Grenoble, Ly- ons, and Clermont Ferrand. | Hcono- mic regions are still to be formed for Alsace-Lorraine and for. the region just south of Paris. There will event- ually be about twenty’ in all, corres- ponding in number to the military de- partments. 4 Nothing more is contemplated for the moment in this reform than & constiltative function by bodies in each region composed of representa- tives of Chambers of Commerce. J+ will afford manufacturer and business men an opportunity to cooperate with the government in the settlement of questions of special interest to their respective regions. There is on\ the ¢alendar of the Chamber of Deputies a bill that goes much farther. It proposes the ‘sub- stitution of about twenty “regions” serviceg, | fOr the eighty-seven departments into which France was divided after the revolution, giving the regions legisla- tive bodies with power to make laws affecting only local interests, ‘ This proposed reform would give the regioxs a closer resemblance to the states of the American union than that presented by the departments now existing. These departments hav- ing little initiative in pudlic affairs, everything has been centralized in Paris. Affairs of purely’local inter- est were often so bound up in red tape in the capital that local initia- tive regarding them was stifled. The beginning now made -by the Minister Grocers Close. of Commerce is, haileda¥ a promising All Bismarck’ grocery stores are to| indication. that) eventually: the ‘whole close at’noon tomorrow, reform plan will be adopted, joy .a pleasant evening. &