Evening Star Newspaper, October 2, 1921, Page 43

EDITORIAL PAGE NATIONAL PROBLEMS ""SPECIAL ARTICLES Part 2—14 Pages EDITORIAL SECTION he Sundiy Stat. WASHINGTON, D. 0., SUNDAY MORNING, OOTOBER 2, 192%. # CANCEL WAR DEBTS, EUROPEANS ASK US Senator Robinson - Found Such Desire General Among People in Italy, Bel- gium and France on Recent Trip. BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. HE economic situation in this country is necessarily _so closely bound up with that of Eurqpe today that first- hand information regarding conditions abroad, brought back to America by Senator Joseph T. Robinson of Ar- kansas, who attended the recent meeting of the Interparliamentary Union, is doubly interesting. During his stay in Europe Senator Robinson visited Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland and ltaly. His opportunities for studying conditions as they exist in Europe were exceptional. His judgment is| that the economic situation in Eu- rope is complicated; and that it pre- sents many problems which seem to constitute a barrier to the prompt revitalization of industry and com- merce. Conditions in Russia, the vast war debts of the various nations, the low rate of foreign exchange, the dev- astation caused by the war, all are involved in the economic problems of the European nations, according to Senator Robinson. Added to which, he said, is the very hurtful fact that agitations are in progress calcu- lated to intensify antagonisms which already exist. Discussing the conditions in de- tail in the countries which he visit- ed, Senator Robinson said: Business Stagnation in Sweden. to do this on America, but, aside from this, there is little bitterness and much friendliness manifested by the people of Germany toward the United States. This is illustrated by the fact that the Germans are a unit in desiring that the American military forces in thel occupled area be retained there so long as there are any foreign troops kept there.” Senator Robinson spoke in praise of the discipline maintained by Com- manding Gen. Allén of the American forces in Germany, and said that it has made the American uniform and the American flag respected through- out Burope, and particularly in Ger- many. Barrier to Normal Conditions. “It is disappointing.” continued Senator Robinson, “that the genius of world statesmanship has brought for- ward no plan that would assure the execution of the treaty with Ger- many and thus make possible the withdrawal of all the French, British and American troops from German territory. The presence of the French troops particularly is calculated to keep alive the spirlt of hate which has existed so long between France and Germany. If the war Is ever to end. some plan must be found to se- cure the execution of the treaty with- out resort to military forces. As a practical proposition, however, it is doubtful whether such a plan can be found. The French fear that the “Sweden, for instance, has always enjoyed a liberal and profitable trade with Rassia. For a long time that trade has 2lmost been completely suspended and difficulty and delay is experienced in reviving it. In con- sequence the people of Sweden are going through a period of business stagnation which is sweeping away many liberal fortunes. 'In addition to Germans will secretly store up against another day when the events of 1870 and ‘71 may be repeated and when France may again be humili- ated. Thus in a sense the war still continues. The French feel that their only protection against another at- tack from Germany lies in continued repressive measures against Germany that will make impossible the revival of her national spirit.”” this, the cost of living in Sweden is probably as high as in any other country in the world. The situation, there- fore, is affected with a double as- pect, namely, very high prices while at the same time all business is at a Progress of Reconstruction. Returning- to the economic side of the European situation, the Arkansas senator said: “The work of reconstruction in Hardlng Leadership May Be Needed TENDENCY OF PRICES BENEFIT TO FARMER To Clear Mass of Public Business Gl of Joat BY N. 0. MESSENGER. RESIDENT HARDING, at the begin- ning of this week and of the month of October, finds himseif facing a mass of - great questions and public business of large volume and surpassing importance. Some of the questions have been in the formative verlod for months past, and are now approach- Ing the time of settlement and solving. He is nat’ to have the sole responsibility in the fruition of these ripening problems of state- craft and legislation, but he is largely concerned therein, and the duties of leadership, counsel and advice devolve upon him. For piping times of peace, such as these be, the position of general manager of the largest going concern in the world—that is to say, the office of President of the United States—is by no means a sinecure nor invested with any ele- ments of idle dalliance. . The President shows his realizatiop of this fact in his demeanor. His callers note his seri- ousness of countenance and gravity of -manner when they come to see him on busingss. * % %k X Not even a President can always have things 20 just to his liking, for he cannot control men and events, although in his elevated position and with his opportunity for broad outlook and encompassing vision he may get a completer and readier visualization of what should be than those who are in the swirling maelstrom of affairs. It is for him but to urge and advise and he must bear the brunt of the chafing when results do not materialize rapidly nor in the way desired. It is easily conceivable that the chief execu- tive must exercise an Infinite degree of patieace, or at least refraln from showing impatience, lest he lay himself open to the charge of dic- tating and domineering, a role which President Harding would not find agreeable, especially in dealing with Congress. * k % % Yet it need not surprise any one if President Harding takes occaslon very shortly again to suggest to Congress in a very gentle and diplo- matic, though pointed, way the desirability of pushing to completion some of the legislation which seems to be lagging. This is likely to _be done in a communication to some republican leader in the Senate, taking the form of sug- gestion rather than complaint. * % ¥ % Republican leaders in the Senate are con- cerned over the present status of the tax re- vision bill, and the coming week will bring many conferences among the several groups repre- senting conflicting views on the tax provisions ion are sharp, and in some instances are feared to be irreconcilable to adjustment except through the verdict-of a majority vote in the Senate after long debate. Several leading republican senators are ap- prehensive lest the tax bill may have to be prac- tically rewritten from the form in which it was reported out of the committee ;on finance. A virtual avalanche of amendments to the bil threatens to descend upon it, and combinations are forming among 'senators in favor of par- ticular amendments, without regard to party lines. The bloc systeni appears to be flourish- ing like the green bay tree. Toward the close of the week there was in - evidence a revival of interest in the substitute tax plan proposed some time ago by Senator Smoot of Utah. The Smoot bfll, contemplating simplification of the general tax system and the raising of revenue from six principal sources, was rejected at first by the tax revisers. Sen- ator Smoot bided his time, predicting that when the bill got into the Senate it would be loaded down with amendments, and that the' leaders might turn to his idea for salvation. ‘The main objection to the Smoot plan was urged against the proposed sales tax on-manu- factures. It was contended that this would tend to increase prices to the consumer, and the farmers’ bloc. as well as some other groups, were dead set against the proposal. There is reported to have been a change of view, how- ever, and the prospect is that the Smoot pro- visions will receive more attention from now on than was paid to them when the bill came into the Senate. * Xk %k % The administration found cause for satisfac- tion in the first week's conference of best minds on unemployment problems. The progress made in the direction of working out plans for relief was classed as important, with fair promise of something tangible and definite coming out of the meeting. Disclosure of the fact that there was less unemployment than estimated a month ago in itself had a good psychological effect, it was believed by observers. Yet, it was deemed ominous that in the midst of the conference, when the attention of the country was being directed-to the subject of several millions of workers out of employment, there should have come the announcement that railroad men had voted to strike rather than accept the proposed reductions in wages. Favorable comment was made upon the fact that the “best minds” among the leaders of the railroad men had taken position in opposition to a strike, * k % % President Harding had hoped up to the last day or two that.Congress could enact the per- manent tariff law at this extra session of Con- gress, but he is believed now to realize that it will not be possible to do so. This prospect is as disappointing to him as to the republican leaders in Congress, but he and they are con- fronting the inexorable flight of time and the ' physical impossibility of handling such a great measure ofthand and while other affairs of more. pressing urgency are “going through the ‘works.” There is . compensation to the Congress leaders In the thought that, after all, a little delay in the enactment of the tariff bill may have its good points. Is is taken for granted that there will be an extension of the life of the temporary measure now on the statute books which will protect the agricultural inter- ests. Meantime, before the permanent law is enacted there can reasonably be expected a re- adjustment of industrial affairs abroad, which will give the American lawmakers more assured ground for framing a tariff which is to stand for years. Poljtically considered, the drawback to delay is the prospect of the new and permanent law coming into force about the time the next con- gressional electlons are approaching, with the possibility: of its provisions belng seized upon by the opposition to be worked into political capital. The republican party had one sad ex- perience of that kind, when a tariff law went into effect just prior to the elections, and swept § the republicans out of power. * % %k X% Careful inquiry among republican politicians fails ‘to disclose the existence of any serious feeling of apprehension as to the near political future of their party, however. All who went back to their homes during the recent recess of Congress kept an attentive ear to the ground for rumblings of serious discontent, and it can- not be said that any alarming reports have been brought back to Washington. 1t is true, according to reports, that a cer- tain amount of impatience continues to be ex- - pressed over the delay in passing the tax bill, but the conservative opinion is that this will vanish when the bill becomes a law, between now and the adjournment of the extra’session. Several repubiican leaders of national promi- nence were in Washington last week and took occasion to urge haste in enacting the tax law, urging that it would be well nigh fatal to the party should the extra session merge into the regular session without the bill being ready for the President’s signature. They_were assured by their friends in Con- gress that there is no reasonable prospect of such 2 thing coming to pass, and that the re- publicans of the Senate are thoroughly alive to the political necessities of the case. Congrcssmnal Com- mlttee on Agricultural Inquiry. ’Better Times for All BY WILL P. KENNEDY. HE ' price of manufactured goods is coming down: the | price of farm products is go- X ing up—that is one of the Iconclusionu reached by the joint con- {gressional committee on agricultural inquiry, after an intensive study of the situation covering several months. This is also the consensus of opinion ‘of leaders in the unemployment con- ference—that the prices of manufac- tured articles must come down, in order to speed up industrial activity. Farmers, who have been paying high prices for all they had to buy. while getting rock bottom prices for jall they had to sell, have been forced lto abstain from buying agricuitural machinery and many other manufac- tured products. l Ncw that a billion dollars’ addi- ] tional credit has been made available for the farmers, the argument of those who are guiding the national policy in the unemployment confer- ence is that the manufacturers by cutting their prices must make it at- tractive for the farmers, who are halt of the entire purchasing power of the country, to buy manufactured proa- [ucts now. This will set an exampie for more general buying and the n-} dustrial machinery ol the country will be fully employed again direct1y, iaking up part of the slack in unem- ployment and indirectly taking up tie rest of the slack by making i necessary 101 the big retali stores o sumption over there, increase in «u- ports should. also help to improve farm prices. One of the disturbing elements, as well as one of the obstacles to reach- ing a more stable price level, which would represent a fairly normal divi- sion of rewards of labor and capital— as Chairman Andersn sees it—is the fact that the elements of the cost of doing husiness have not been re- duced in anything like the proportion that prices generally have fallen. This prevents the consumer from olfain- ing the full advantage of reduction in commodity prices. That is to say that the spread be- tween wholesale and retail prices has not been reduced in the same propor- tion as wholesale prices. The cost in between the wholesale and retail prices. whether composed of profits or wages or trahsportation charges, or other service elements, have not come down to the same extent as wholesale prices have come down. The joint congressional committee on agricul- tural inquiry is trying to find the rea- sons for thi Effect of Declining Market. In a declining market the owner of |gooas is confronted with two alter- lnall\es He must sell his goods as fast as he can, taking relatively small losses at each turnover as prices go own: or. he must hold his goods in anticipation of better prices later, which he can do only if he has credit enough to hold them. If he holds he takes the risk of being obliged to sell when the market nire the clerks that have been dis- charged bgcause tne Peopic Were nou buying. £ reaches the bottom. Good"Timen Predicted. The farmer’s opportunity for making The cyele of business readjustment ja choice between these two alterna- seems ‘1o have swung round; the peak |tives is limited by these two facts: of the hard times resulung from tou| First, much of what he produces easy money, speculation and spending | must be marketed while it is ready beyond the limit of natural credit|regardless of the price at the time. Second, because a carry-over crop standsti] Senator .Robinsen explained that a great difficulty experienced in connec- tion with trade with Russia is the lack of adequate transportation facili- tles in that country, in additizon to the fact that_large nuymbers of the Russian populgtion have not the funds to make the 'purchases. TRe soviet government, he sald, has been able to find the money to make purchases, however. “In Denmark,” continued Senator Robinson, “the people appear prosper- ous and cheerful,: although the cost of living is comparatively high.” Everybody at Work in Germany. Discussing the economic conditions in Germany as he found them, Sena- tor Robinson said: “Great difficulty is being experienc- ed in securing certain necessary raw materials for the operation of fac- tories. Every foot of tillable lands is being intensively cultivated, how- ever, and evervbody in Germany is at work. There are no union hours. The workmen, however, are well paid compared with pre-war wages, and on account of the conditions respecting exchange living costs are very low. “The German people have set them- selves to the mighty task of meeting, if possible, the costs of reparation imposed by the treaty of peace. There is a feeling quite general that this task is impossible of accomplishment; that unless some compromise is found all business enterprises will collapse. Those who belong to the middle classes ‘in Germany and who before the war were: quite prosperous are experiencing very great hardships and Belgium is progressing with amazing rapldity. While evidences of devas- tation and ruin appear on every side, there is little sign of extreme pov- erty among the pevple. On,the con- trary, 1 was surprised to note that throughout Belgium there is an abs sence of ‘eny indication of general discomfort er suffering. “In France, too, the work of re- construction and restoration is pro- gressing rapidly in the devastated re- gions. While there are sections many miles in length where little or noth- ing has been donme, there are other areas where a great. deal has already been accomplished.” Senator Robinson said that he had seen in Belgium a number of cities, completely destroyed during the war, now almost fully restored. Every building is new. Switzerla: —— R M A N R MR T and Italy. During his stay in Switzerland, Senator Robinson said, he had been impressed with the fact that the Swiss, while fairly prosperous, are economizing along with the other na- tions of Europe. He pointed out that during the war the tourist trade of Switgerland, upon which many of its people have depended in the past, was wiped out. It is beginning to flour- ish again, however. In Italy many of the factories are doing good business, he said. There has been much trouble between the government and the labor unionms, however, and.there seems to be a feeling that an upheaval might hap- peq there at any moment. He men- by which the hotels charge the guests 10 per cent of their bill, in addition in many-instances are suftering from | .. ‘pe regular charge, for services. hunger. Thousands of these people This, he said, is supposed to take the are practicing economy to a degreelpace of the tipping system, and has that would amaze our people could|peen they but know the details. actually denying themselves food and clothing necessary for subsistence, and as a result manifest evidences of emaciation. “The German mark, as every one knows, is very low in excharge value, I think its actual purchasin; value is regarded cents, while the mark can be bought | faly. for 1 cent. Americans can, therefore, ContmuedonsPhirdabuge:) live in Germany for about one-fourth of the amount required in the United Finds Tl’lat E\n‘ope Stxll States. Many are taking advantage ot this condition and are actually making protracted stays in Germany for that reason. The Germans, how- ever, do not regard this as an un- mixed benefit to them, for the reason that the presence in Germany of many Americans who are able to pay lib- erally for what they need imposes ad- ditional hardships on the resident Germans.” , Friendly to U. Dlxresshl‘ for a moment from the | S. in Germany. economic conditions, Senator Hmlson' SENATOR JOSEPH T. ROBINSON spoke of the political situation, which, after all, the economic problems. the German government is unpopular with the people as a whole, although he had found very little desire for lh. restoration of the monarchy. “It is a period of revolution in Ger- many,” ‘said Senator Robinson, “dif- ferent from what has occurred in his- tery anywhere else, and which I be- lieve in the end will prove far-reaching and, I hope, beneficial. “It is astonishing to find the friend- hiness of feeling throughout Germany. teward the American people. There is quite general criticism of the failure 1o incorporate -all the fourteen points advanced by former President Wilson #s ihe basis for peaco in.the treaty| . geq etay abroad, has many inter- ©f Versallles, and there is a disposition | exting things to tell of the aftermath 10 locate responsibifity’ for the failure " of m. e 2 is very closely allied with: He said that ' in Germany as about ¢|he had found that the peoples of insisted upon by the labor They are | ypjons. tioned the new plan adopted in 'I(aly,’ | ‘Want Debt Canceled by U. S. One phase of the economic situa- tion of the European countries which fought against Germany is, of course, the large debts owed by them to the United States. Senator Robinson said Belgium and France seemed I! mn Turmotl Fram War Ot Arkansas, just back from am ex- pending and proposed. The differences of opin- (Copyright, 1921, by The Washington Star.) Greece’s Imperial Aspirations May Lead to Her Economic Ruin and Fuffire Wars BY FRANCESCO NITTIL, Former Premier of Italy. REECE is fighting fri Asia Minor; the Athens papers announce that Mustapha Kemal's army has been routed. The dreams of Hellenism begin once more to take form and con- sistency; Constantine, at the head of the victorious Greek army, is to march into Constantinople (for does not the city bear his name?), and Asia Minor must be subjected to a new revision, for the treaty of Sevres can no longer be regarded as satisfactory, in view of the new situation which has arisen. To tell the truth, the wholesale destruction of Kemal Pasha’s army is anything but an accomplished fact; it is a pious aspiration rather than solid reality. On the other hand, even if the Greek claims were true, they would have but little effect on the situation, as the strength of Turkey has always con- sisted. in her immense powers of resistance. She conquers by pass- ively resisting; she wears out her enemies, having time as her invin- cible ally. * ok k¥ By one of its strange freaks, des- tiny seems to have chosen King Constanting to carry out what was always the dream of Venizelos— the creation of a great Greek em- pire firmly based on the sea, the transformation of the Aegean coasts on.both shores into Greek territories. The treaty of Sevres has been the result of Venizelos' most powerful and most intelligent effort. He succeeded in obtaining from t| entente all that was possible, tI very maximum in the way of con- cessions. I have seldom met in my political career men who possessed patriotism so exalted and ability so great as Venizelos. When I gave him adwiees of moderation in a friendly manner, pointing out the necessity to limit the demands of Greece. I was never met in a stub- ‘born or intemperate spirit. -He knew how to ask and how to get what he wanted, he took advan- tage of every circumstance and made uwse of every resource with greater skill and ability than any other European ~ statesman. He asked with the air of one who is offering something, and when “he won his point he looked as if he had been granted a“favor. * K k% The treaty of Sevres is full of huge mistakes, chiefly due to the skill and activity of Venizelos, who succeeded in obtaining from the ententé; in the Interests of Greece, well be concessions which may regarded as an absurdity. The confinés of European Turkey are reduced to the line-of Chatal- gia, which means that Turkey _practically” disappears from Eu-. | rope, the only derelict being Con- stantinople, the seat of the ‘caliph, an - international rather than.’a. Turkish city.’ It is true that the treaty of Sevres says that ‘the edn- tracting. states are agreed in. r ‘I'has its own switchboa: specting the rights and claims of the Ottoman government on Con- stantinople, which continues to be the capital of the Ottoman empire, but always subject to the reserva- tions of the treaty itself. As ap- “plied to a political regime, this means nothing but “controlled liberty,” just as it was said, until a few vears ago, that Russia was a constitutional monarchy under an autocratic czar. According to the treaty of Sevres, Constantinople is the free capital of the Turkish empire, subject to the reservations and conditions contained in the treaty, which, as a matter of fact, destroy or limit all liberty. Greece had succeeded in obtaining, both in Europe and in Asia Minor, concessions of such exceptional im- portance that I never beleved, and do not now believe, that she can hold them long or permanently. * ¥ k ¥ But the Greeks are once more in a state of frenzied excitement and dissatisfaction. They regard the Sevres treaty as quite insufficient for' their claims; the successes of the Greek arms, always rather ex- aggerated by the press, push them on to advance new and always more ambitious demands. Before 1913—namely, before the Balkan wars—Greece had an exten- sion of 64,657 square kilometers and a population of 2,631,952 in- habitants. After the Balkan wars her territory was almost doubled (120,000 square kilometers), while her. population increased to 4,662,- 371 inhabitants. It is difficult to calculate exactly what further in- crease would have been effected as a result of the treaty of Sevres, but it would certainly have been proportionately still greater. Greece has annexed a great number of territoriés completely, or preva- lently Turkish and not Greek, be- llnnlnl with the vilayet of Adrian- ople. /A few military successes have now sufficed. to put a keener edge on the imperialistic appetites of Greece. Her statesmen and her “ press regard the treaty of Sevres only as a fundamental character, Getermining her relations - with the allies and with the enemy and constituting for Greece a claim to rights which cannot be modified or disputed. Not only, thercfore, does Greece mnot intend to make any further concessions to the enemy, as she declared she would do be- | fore the present war started, but | she appears to think that the war ! itself gives her novel rights and claims. ‘These new rights do not in the least interfere with the con- cessions already obtained (which, on the contrary, ‘are strengthened and rendered intangible), but ren- der fresh concessions necessary. There are many in Greece who aspire to Constantinople, forget- ting that Constantineple and the regime of the straits are of an international importance too great to permit of Europe’s confiding them to one state alone, which, besides, represents but a small ethnical minority. ‘They also for- get that the idea of a military ac- tion against Constantinople is in itself absurd, as the capital of the old Turkish empire is practically held and garrisoned by the troops of the entente. Meanwhile Greece, in the midst of her dreams of greutness, sees the very foundations of her pros- perity endangered. Forced to keep on a war footing an army, which, together with the Polish, is the most numerous now in existence, having regard to the population, she daily sees her credit declining, and her resources dwindling. The economic situation of Greece can- not but grow from bad to worse. PLAN TO EFFECT A BIG SAVING General refrganization of the govern- | there ‘are now three branches of the mental telephone system in the District of Columbia with a view .to saving thousands of dollars in mileage rates for leased wires and promoting efficiency is being planned. Assistant Controller General of the United States Ginn is conducting a special investigation of the subject. In a number of places switchboards will be consolidated and a number of salgries of telephone operators will be: saved, with the. consequent saving of mileage costs, which amount to-hun- dreds of dollars.’ .1t has been found. during !he course of the investigation that there are some, buildings® which house two: or three branches of the government, connected with the dep-fl.menu under which they |'that Each branch come, with mileage l?‘? ‘with the neces- &3] s e Soard ‘in each 4 government, each coming under a dif- ferent department, and each with-its own switchboard, connected by a num- ber of mileage lines with its depart- ment. It is planned to board vail, have one switch- for this building as for other buildings where similar conditions pre= and have them connected -with their central departments through the general mileage line service. age. fees. There . are :other imunéu where a u of a_department separate building. - Instea telephone in \ha office. expensive. Swi g:hlled o\ll!. r;ned I BY REORGANIZING TELEPHONESI housed in a of providing a switchboard in tHe: building and con- necting- it with & few mileage lines, there is a separate nflel(n line for each This, it lv.:l‘:. these in- 'l'he lnvnu to date has shown T‘MM dollars in mile- This wil enable the government to save the exe pense of thousands of dollars for mile- Even supposing that Mustapha Kemal's army were defeated, the difficulties in which Grecce is in- - volved ‘'would- not disappear nor appreaably diminish. The Turks have always succeeded in wearing down their assailants with ‘a stubborn resistance made of fanat- iclsm, and, at the same time, of national pride and dignity. Greece is still far from having crushed military resistance in Asia Minor. But is she quite sure of being able to do 3o in Thrace and in the other European territories to which she lays claim? Will it be possible for her to bear the strain much longer without succumbing under -her self-imposed effort? 2 * %k ¥ These are querles to which jt is difficult to give a positive answer. The settlement of eastern Europé is taking place in the absence of two ‘of the parties most directly concerned, Russia and Germany, who have “the greatest interest in the matter. Germany, vanquished in war, cannot take part in the discussion of peace problems; Rus- sia, exhausted by the®efforts sus- tained in the war, superior to her strength and energies, has fallen into convulsions and writhes be- tween communism and starvation, between two evils of which it is difficult to say which is the result of the other. But this state of things. cannot last. long, and in a few years' time one hundred and fifty million Russians and seventy million Ger- mans, or about half the population of Europe, now excluded from all debates and decision; ill want to make their voi rd. And the longer they have suffered in silence the louder and stronger will be that voice. B T have always had the liveliest sympathy for Greece and on more than one occasion have been glad to support her claims. I have never believed that the interests of Greece and Italy could be antago- nistic. But T do believe that to en- courage Greece in her ambition and in her hopes of new territorial acquisitions would be to lead her deliberately toward a future not only - uncertain and obscure, but full of ruin and wars. The less Greece demands the more she will be able to keep. If she will find the way toward a friendly agree- ment with the Turks shé will have followed the only policy of peace conduciye not only to her inter- ests, but to her very existence. The dangers through. which Eu- rope is passing are so great that conservatism means life and se- curity and even progress. The new aspirations of Hellenism represent a return to a past of strife and ruip rather than the vision of a calm and secure fu- ture. ‘The best and most nrnflt_l\fl: conguests - to which Greece may now aspire are those which she will have the strength to forege. has passed, in the opinion of those who have given closest study to this lgreat cconomic problem. There is general optimism that good times are ahead and the. pyschology of getting every one feeling optimistic and get- ting them started buying is not over- looked by those who urc making the recommendations in the President's national unemployment conference. Representative Sidney Y. Anderson, chairman of tha joint congressional committee on agricultural inquiry, who has been making an intensive study of the problem for several months, scrutinizing especially the relation of farmers' prosperity to the jgeneral industrial welfare, “explains the general theory and line of de- duction on which the conclusion has been reached that priées of manufac- tured products must come down and the prices of, agricultural products must g0 up. Effect Prices. There is a general impression that loans and discounts of banks and of ‘flle federal reserve banks have been very greatly reduced. While it is true that there have been very ma- terial reductions.in loans and dis- counts and smaller reductions in cur- rency these reductions have not been nearly so large as reductions in prices. They have served to reduce interest rates and to release funds for production enterprises. There is & certain relation between deposit credit and low currency and prices. This relation is mot an ab- solute ome. It is necessarily modi- fied by economic forces of supply and demand. The relations between de- posit credits and prices is somewhat out of line, and assuming a gradual resumption of employment and de- mand in the country. it seems likely that prices that are abnormally out of line with money and credit will rise to a more normal relation. In the case of agricultural products | the probabilities in this direction are increased by the fact that sales com- pelled by processes of liquidation and low prices combined will result in reduced acreage and production, which should have a tendency to force agricultural prices upward. If there should be no economic or political setback in Europe to re- tard the resumption of normal con- To Head Japan Delegation At Arms Conference Here PHINCE IYESATO TOKUGAWA, President of the Japanese house of peers, who has been selected to head the, delexates who will attend the rnhe--u‘ conference on limitation of armaments.in- b may result in acting as a drag on prices for the new crop, consequently increasing his total loss instead of dcereasing it. The farmer's difficulties and losses are further increased by the fact that agricultural prices have come down faster than the prices of other com- modities. so that his cost of produc- tion and cost of living remained rela- 1 tively high during all the period when his prices were going down. BETTER BUSINESS SEEN. South American Conditions Show Satisfactory Development. South American business conditions during September showed develop- ments that were regarded as having | the earmarks of permanent better- | ment. according to advices to the De- : partment of Commerce by cable today. ! As an important feature in the im- | provement, agents of the department | cited practically complete withdrawal { of the large amount of general mer- chandise which had accumulated in customs houses. Slight improvement in exchange conditions also had a bearing on the situation. | While labor unrest was reported as | a disturbing factor in some localities, the department's summary viewed the | situation so hopefully as to suggest that North American export houses “could make valuable use of their time by strengthening their eXport organizations.” The statement added that the exporters in this country should be ready to handle “efficiently the business which they may prop- erly expect from South America.” FIVE SCIENTISTS CHOSEN. Ajgriculture Experts to Study Land | Utilization. Secretary Wallace has chosen five i scientists of the Department of Agri- culture to consider the problem of land utilization. They are Dr. L. C. Gray. agricultural economist; C. V. Piper, agrostologist, in charge of for- age crop investigations; Dr. G. M. Rommel, chief of the animal hus- bandry division; C. F. Marbut, in charge of soil survey, and E. E. Car- ter, assistant forester. Consideration will be given to such factors as present and prospective production, domestic consumption and foreign demand and indicated im- crease in population. The committee probably will undertake also a com- prehensive survey of available farm lands in the United States. —_— ARTILLERY DECORATED. U. S. Second Division Units Honor- ed by French Government. Artillery regiments, the 4th Macbire. Gun Battalion, and the trains and othe: headquarters units of the wartime 24 Division of the American Army have been awarded decorations by the French war minister. The citations permit the unit's name to wear the French fourragerre or shoulder cord and the ribbon of the French war cross, so that all units of the 2d Di- vision now have been similarly deco-. rated by -the French. The division took part in major operations at Chateau Thierry, Vaus, Soissone, St. Mihiel, Blanc Mont and the Meuse-Argonne and the units now decorated include the 12th and 15th Field "Artillery, stationed at Camp Travis, Tex., and the 17th Field Ar- |tintery, at Camp Brage. N. C. The 4t ! Machine , Gun Battalion has, been broken up in the Army organization into Company H, 17th Infantry, and Company, H, 46th Infantry,