Evening Star Newspaper, June 4, 1922, Page 47

BOLIVIA MAY YET REALIZE. AMBITION FOR A SEAPORT| Chances Will Be Bettered if the U. S. BY BEN McKELWAY. OLIVIA'S hopes for an outlet to the sea are centered on arbitration by the United States of the Chilean-Peru- vian quarrel, a step which seems im- minent in view of the apparently fruitless efforts of the delegates from Peru and Chile to make any progress by themselves. And devel- opments would indicate that Bo- Hvia's hopes are not groundle: it anything permanent in the way of continued peace in South America is to be gained by arbitration. Significant, from Bolivja's point, at least. is a recent interview from Lima, quoting Peruvian president as saving Peru would be willing to abide by any decision reached by the United States as arbitrator. and declaring. further, th; Bolivia’s claims s 1ld be con- sidered if mediation is resorted to by the delegates. This is in line with expressions heard here that senti- ment in Chile is not ave to allow- ing Bolivia a hearing. Friendship Wanted by Both. Why. then, have the Chilean and Peruvian delegates been so emphat in their refusal to entertain Bo® livia's requests so far? view- cabled the One explanation les In the fact that Bolivia might have thrown her lot with one of the two sides, destroy- ing the nice adjustment of the scales which has shown such even balance €0 far. Bolivia is no mean Neither Peru nor Chile is willing to risk the loss of her friendship and see the other gain by it. But it is not believed either would object to a hearing on her clails before a third and disiterested party In connection with arbitration, the proposal has been advanced in cer- tain quartegs that it might be un- dertaken by the United States, in company wth wo, or perhaps three, other American republi There are guments against this on the ground that a settlement would be expedited if left to the United States alone. and that a decision by the United States would be respected. without an <ing from two or more judg hopes for arbitration by the states alone. Chance for Complications. Here is an example of the com-: plications which might arise were Argentina. for instance, called in to help decide the issue: Bolivia will soon complete a railway to connect with those of the Argentine, giving her an outlet through the latter country to the ocean. runs through the contested While Argen- of a railroad which Chilean _territory Tacna-Arica district. . tina is on the friendliest h Chile. a natural rivalry would Keep her from doing anything make permanent Chile's present ad- vantage over Bolivia. And at the same time she would he averse to losing a large amount of commerce which otherwise would pass through her country. were Bolivia given a seaport of her own. This and like jssues would be bound to come up, if the settlement of the Chilean- FPeruvian quarrel Is left to American i other than the United The greatest argument in behalf of to an access to the aport of her own is ary for her economic development. Another argument that unless she is granfed this sea- port, her future generations will be dedicated to its acquisition by force, Bolivia's righ Sea is t olute and there will be no guarantee of ! peace in South America until it is granted Bolivia a Coming Power. Bolivia's possibilities and potential strength is attracting considerable attention these da She is one of the coming powers of South America, and should be reckoned with accord- ingly. A seaport for Bolivia would mean a rapid development of immense resources which has been retarded by the lack of an outlet to the sea of her own. Last week a group of New York and St Louis bankers agreed to lend Bolivia $33.000,000; $26,000,000 to_ be ally. i A(Inrzic Her main outlet to the Pacific is by way of terms to is Is Called Upon to Arbitrate Dispute Between Chile and Peru. 000,000 in two years. The loan is for twenty-five years at 8 per cent, and represents the largest long-time loan ever secured by any South American country in the United States. That would indicate that Bolivia's credit is pretty good, and that American capitalists are interested in a devel- opment which cannot be complete without a seaport. It is interesting to note how Boliv- ia s to apply the funds received from this loan, and the part Americans are to take in its expenditure. The rail- road from Otocha to Tupiza, which will _connect Bolivia with the trans- continental railroad of Argentina, is to be completed with American money, and engineered by Americans with ‘American material. As a result of the loan, it will be finished two years ahead of time. This road will open up the central and western por- tion of Bolivia's great mining regions. Another railroad will be built from Potosi to Sucre, American engineers and American material to be used. The road from La Paz to Youngas is to be completed and electrified b Americans. Bolivia is the first Sout American country to build the rail- ways planned in the pan-American railway system, discussed at the last meeting of the pan-American confer- ence. With the loan she will com- plete the network of railways which will open up the western, mountain- ous, mining country, and Argentina has agreed to extend a railroad into the eastern part of Bolivia, which will lell-"::\:um‘h to develop the oil and cattle Millions In Ti Within the last two genheim interests have invested up- ward of £10.000,000 in Bolivian tin mines and built eighty miles of rail- road to carry the product from the mines to the main lines of transpor- tation. The Standard Oil Company | has purchased outright about $2,500,- 000 worth of private oil lands and has installed nearly half a million dollars’ worth of equipment. An- other American oil company, in which a high official of the United States government is interested. has been active in securing leases. Great oil development is expected within the near future in Bolivia and the government recently passed a law re- serving the right to lease o1l lands in partnership, forbidding the sale of government oil lands entirely. A Chicago construction company recently completed the installation of modern sewage systems for La Paz, the capital. and Cochabamba, the sec- ond largest city of Bolivia, using American equipment. This same com- pany holds the contract for conne ing the Bolivian and Argentine rail- ways. As Bolivia already ships mil- lions of tons of mineral products yeariy, which undoubtedly would in- creas: h the follow- ing points concerning her mineral wealth are enlightening: Rich in Mineral Resources. The Bolivian plateau has, been poetically described as “an enormous silver table, supported by columns of gold." The base of this table con- tains all known minerals, ranging from lead to platinum and frem clay to rich marble. In former days Bolivia has produc- ed silver which is deseribed in “bil- lions of ton: When the price of silver declined a great many mines were abandoned and Balivia turned her attention to exporting tin, which, E ce 1897, has represented a value exceeding $368,000,000. The produc- tion of tin has been increasing. In 1919 her exports amounted to 49,000 tons, representing a value of $40,- 000,000 Bolivia's gold production in the past three centuries has been cal- culated at something like $3,250.000,~ 000 worth, amounting to approxi- mately $10.000,000 a year. Copper mining in’ Bolivia, where the metal is usually found as pure, dates back to the time of the Incas. Bolivia controls the world output of bismuth, and in addition to exploit- ing the mines, her mine owners oper- ate a smelting plant for refining the product. Antimony, used extensively during the war, reached its highest production in Bolivia in 1917, when 23,000 tons, valued at $6.500,000, were orted. In 1918 Bolivia exported sum of $4,400,000. In addition to the above named, Bolivia exports nickel, zinc and lead. Cobalt, molybdenum and vanadium are also found, but worked only in small quantities because of the high cost of fuel and transpor- | issued at once and the remaining $7.- ) tation. Proposal for Debt Cancellation And Assurance of World Peace To the Editor of The Star: At the peace conference in Wash® frgton, and at the recent conference in Genoa, the most important factor for the establishment of peace and . 00d will to all nations has not even been mentioned, and has apparently been lost sight of completely! Namely, the restoring of the pre- war financial bases and the re-estab- lishment of international eredit. This was respectfully brought to the attention of our three representa- tives in Washington, and it was sug- gested that this matter should be taken up as the first and most im- portant preliminary, and that, as the nation most interested and the largest creditor, the United States was not only in a position to make the firsg move toward the solution of this problem, but had the power to settle it finally Cancellation of All Debts. The only possible solution of this problem Is the cancellation of all debts between all nations, under con- ditions which would be as fair as possible toward all nations con- cerned, but above all, under condi- tions which would really restore in- ternational confidence and re-estab- lish friendly international relations. It is evident that nations confront- ed by poverty and all its evils and, in some cases 4&Yreatened with bank- ruptcy, are nat in the mood or in the position to dfscuss fairly or rational- Iy the economic or human conditions of a peace. It is also evident that nothing can be done toward accomplishing this without a previous agreement be- tween _the principal creditors, the United ‘States and Great Britain, and Lioyd George said in Genoa that un- less the United States again comes to the “front” the present world chaos will continue indefinitely. The question now is will Great Brit- ain do its part and put the United States in such a position of security that they on their part can act freely and without Teserve, in conjunction with Great Britain, toward bringing about and re-establishing interna- tional confidence and credit. A Ban on All Wars. Like all fmportant questions this one hinges on the fundamental prin- cipal of “givé and take,” and it re- mains to be seen whether Great Brit- ain is willing and ready to meet the United States half way and bring about a condition of affairs which would make all wars practically im- possible, { . To Degin with, Great Britain owes §ithe United States a debt of four bil- — ——— e -~ 2 2 lion dollars, on which so far it has been unable to pay the interest, 110 millions! The reason given for this Is that a large portion of the amount bor- rowed by Great Britain from the United States was lent to the allies of Great Britain, who, likewise, have not paid even the interest on thelr debts because they simply cannot! Some of the nations involved 'have frankly stated their inability to do anything else, and, therefore, Great Britain cannot pay its debt to the United States at present, and it is a question whether the obligation can be liquidated in a reasonable time. For Freedom of the Seas. But there is something more im- portant to the United States than the mere payment of so many billions from Great Britain and something that Great Britain could easily spare, and, by eparing, prove directly to the United States and indirectly to the otker nations of the world, that the British government really desires peace in the future, and is, there- fore, willing to modity its policy of world dominion and by sharing with the United States the responsibility of world control, thereby guarantee —without which' no assurance of & world peace is possible—the absolute freedom, of the seas. The United States has the kindliest feeling toward Great Britain, and it is hoped that that feeling is reicpro- cated, especially in view of the actual and material assistance given in the late war. - But the pest of friends can giffer, quarrel and fight under provadation, or even from misundenstandings, as history shows, and the United States is hemmed in on the Atlantic coast line by British possessions from Nova Scotia via Bermuda apd the West Indies to British Guiana and by British Honduras in the Gulf of Mexico. 3 Menace Would Be Removed. Should the United States have a quarrel or even a serious misunder- standing with Great Britain—whioch is improbable, but unfortunately pos- sible between two great nations hav- ing such varied interests—all the Atlantic states and the gulf states of ke United States would be not only in a state of grave apprehension, but would be dangerously vulnerable, un- less the warships of the United States equalled of exceeded those of Great Britain. Of course, & naval ratio +has been suggested and partly established, but no ratio is observed in war time, and the best way to remove all reasons for apprehension and defense is to remove the cause thereof. 1f Great Britain—on condition the | were she given an outlet of | her own to the Pacific, BY HENRY W. BUNN. HE following is & brief summary of the most important news of the world for the seven days ended June 3: Ireland.—On May 31 Winston Churchill ad- dressed the house of commons on the situation created by the Collins-De Valera agreement. He condemns that agreement as “fundamental- 1y opposed” to the London agregment. ‘“The Irish people will not be able to say (through tha elections proposed by the Collins-De Valera agrecment) whether they accept or re- Ject the treaty offered by Great Britain (i e., the London agreement)." A certain number of labor or Independent candidates may secure election, but it is difficult to see how the parliament resulting from the elections, and the government to be based on that parlia- ment after the elections, can have either rep- resentative or democratic quality or author- ity as it is usually understood.” Yet, in view of the apparently {insuper- able obstacles to freely contested elections, Churchill seems to contemplate acceptance by the British government of that parliament as having authority to act in fulfillment of the London agreement—to act, in fact, as to con- stituent assembly. He confirms (what needed official confirmation) that the Collins-De Valera agreement contemplatesgthat the pres- ent provisional government of the Free State shall be superseded by the cabinet of the new parliament (dail, it is called in the agree- ment). Here, now, is the crux of the whole matter. The agreement provides for a cab- inet to be composed of five champions of the Free State, four opposition members (enemies of the London agreement) and one member chosen by the army. If. says Churchill. all these ministers sign a declaration of adher- ence to the London agreement, as required by article 17 thereof. and as the present mem- bers of the provisional government have done. “we will have no grounds of complaint—but if any of them become members of the govern- ment without signing that declaration, the treaty is broken by that very fact.” * ¥ k ¥ There's the rub. Will the gentlemen of the opposition sign? If they don't, Britain will be at liberty to resume the powers that have been transferred and to reoccupy the territory evacuated. Questioned by a member, Churchill admitted that British troops were being held in Dublin with the possibility of reoccupation\ in view. 1t the new ministers sign the declaration of adherence to the London agreement and all ®oes forward in good faith, the new pro- visional parliament will act upon the consti- tution of the Free State (already drafted) and, after adopting it (presumably with modi- flcations), will submit it to the British parlia- ment. Assuming its approval, in due course. by the British parliament (the instrument is likely to cross the channel several times). the latter will pass an act confirming it and the Free State will then have full legal statuis. If upon if—but of all the ifs the first is the most formidable—if De Valera and the other opposition ministers will sign, and supposing all the ifs got safely by, there will remain the devastating fact that the Irish people have not expressed themselves upon the London agreement—and isn’t that what the opposition have been after all along. to prevent any such expression. so that_hereafter they may de- nounce the Free State as lacking valldity, since it never received the people's mandate? Tt is to be assumed that Mr. Churchill spoke for the British government. and his speech has been approved. not only by supporters. hut also by enemies of the government. The Brit- ish government must make a definite stand somewhere. The conferences between Irish leaders committed to the London agreement and members of the British government, which have been going on intermittently since Friday week, are not vet concluded. Collins and Griffith ‘listened to Churchill's speech from the distinguished visitors' gallery and are reported to have pronounced it “eminent- Iy fair” and “in accordance with the facts.” Discussion of the Ulster situation, hardly less important than the situation created by the Collins-De Valera pact. must be postponed. The Belfast horrors accumulate. On May 31 the casualties were fourteen killed and forty- ! THE SUNDAY STAR, ‘WASHINGTO United States cancelling its debt and unpaid interest—would cede to the United States in return all of its West Indies possessions and British Guiana in South America and British Hon- duras in Central America, all causes and necessity for apprehension and defense against Great Britain by the United States would be entirely and forever removed, and the best guar- antee of possible world peace would be firmly established. For it is evident that no wars be- llween any nations could take place jagainst the wishes of the United | States and Great Britain combined, BY NELLIE MARGARET SCANLAN of Wellington, three wounded. Republican army detachments (“dlssidents”) " continue to raid across the border, murdering and ruining. Tk ok ok X Germany.—On May 28 the German govern- ment dispatchéd a note to the reparations commission, accepting the commission’s latest terms without, it would seem, significant reservations. The reparations commission hag formally declared the German note to be satistactory and there should be no danger of a “ruction” out of the reparations question during the re- mainder of the calendar year. The commis- sion, however, in its note expressly reserves the right to take appropriate action shduld Germany not fulfill the engagements she has subscribed, and declares that failure of the project of am international loan would not be accepted as an excuse for default. The partial moratorium for the year 1922, hitherto only provisionally conceded, is now confirmed, on condition that Germany comes up to time. Presumably the bankers' committee will now arrange for an International loan to Germany. The general opinion seems to be that the thing’s good as done. It is not—there are great difficulties. An announcement by the committee that a very great reduction of the reparations total must condition a loan might prove an insuperable difficulty. * % %k % Italy. — Gabriells” D'Annunzio _entertained Tchitcherin at his villa on Lake Garda on May 28, in great state. An escort of legion- aries attended the great Russian, a guard of honor of Arditi, drawn up on the lawn, pre- sented arms on his arrival; from a flagpole waved the banner of the regency of Quarnero in a crimson field, a golden serpent encircling the polar constellation. Tchitcherin stayed the night and left at 6 am. i D'Annunzio is president of a shipping com- pany which is looking for trade with Russia. Tk ok ok ok Hungary.—Elections to a new Hungarian assembly were held in part of Hungary on May 28, and in the rest of the country on June 1. Of the eighty-one districts in which voting was held on May 28, the Horthy candidates carried seventy-four and the legitimists (the supporters of the claims of Prince Otto, the eldest son of ex-King Karl, recently demised) only two, which is, of course, absurd, if the elections were Intended to register the peo- ple's wishes. But the elections were not so* fntended by Horthy. They were intended by him to return a parliament packed in the Horthy interest. In his arrangements for the elections, Regent Horthy displayed a boldness and ingenuity hardly paralelled In these latter days. The new assembly is to frame a con- stitution and settle the question of the suc- cession to the throne. If the Hungarians want a sure enough king they need not look farther—Horthy's their man, the real thing of the old school. * X X * Chinn.—Hsu Shih-Chang has resigned the presidency and has retired to private life. The acting premier, Mr. Chow Tzu-Cht (an old hand in politics), is temporarily perform- ing the duties of president. The majority of the old parliament are now assembled at Tientsin and expect to move to Peking shortly. They have urged the mem- bers of that parliament who form the rump parliament at Canton to join the main_body at Peking. They have notified Gen. Li Yuan- Hung, who (under pressure) resigned the presidency when the old parliament was il legally dissolved by Tuan Chi-Jui in 101 that he is their choice for president. As soon as they are established at Peking they will formally elect him. These doings hav e approval of (are doubtless inspired ty) Wu Fei-Fu, who, however, declares that, as soon as the re-established parliament has things well in hand. he will willingly “efface him- self,” if that is desired. Sun Yat-Sen, president of the Canton re- public. is behaving foolishly. He has heen urged to efface himself. in the interest of Chi- nese unity, by the Peking government, by Through Antipodean Eyes Oh, To see oursel’s New Zealand And foolish notion. ad some power the giftie gie us s ithers see us. It would frae monie & blunder free us, & D. C, JUNE 4, 1922-PART 2 The Story the Week Has Told Wu Pei-Fu, by the parliamcntary group- at Tientsin and, perhaps most important of all, by his former lleutenant, Gen. Chen Kwang- Ming, until lately governor of Kwangtung province and now, having quarreled with Dr. Sun, holding in hand a devoted body of troops somewhere near Canton. If Sun delays his self-effacement much longer Chen may give him a close look of cold steel and atart him on his travels again. With the resignation of Hsu Shih-Chang there is no longer any justi- flcation for the existence of the Canton gov- ernment. Chang Tso-Lin is qualifying a long-dis- tance runner. On his heels, hot-foot, are Wu Pel-Fu's pursuing columns. But, alas, before him is mutiny in his home detachments. The star of that super-bandit seems to have set. Altogether, the outlook for Chinese unifica- tion and a favorable fresh start of the re- public looks rosy. But, softly, a tempered optimism is the ticket. Six million of the 27,000,000 people in the province of Hunan, China, are starving, ac- cording to reports of missionaries, and hun- dreds of thousands will certainly die before the next harvest. The situation, however, is not quite so bad as it has been in some parts of Russia, for there is a good deal of grass to eat. There is some cannibalism, neverthe- less. Malthus, vous avez raison. * ¥ k ¥ United States of America.—I regret that the great situations abroad have crowded out from last week’s summary and this one consider- ation of domestic matters not lacking in im- portance, such as: The decision of the Inter- state Commerce Commission ordering reduc- tions in railroad freight rates; the decision of the Railroad Labor Board ordering reduction by 13.2 per cent of the wages of railroad maintenance of way employes, and the rail- road crisis induced thereby: Mr. Hoover's in- genious and mostly successful extra-legal tactics aimed at keeping down the price of bituminous coal; the acquittal of Willlam Blizzard, charged with treason in connection with the march of armed minors on Logan county, W. Va., last fall, and the McCumber bonus bill. * ok Kk % Miscell Poincare will be in London in June, g accepted invitations from county and city committees to attend a cele- bration in observance of Verdun day. You imagine a vain thing, Mr. Garvin and Mr. Sidebotham: The entente is not @ead. The ex-kaiser has almost completed his memolirs. He is holding out for $1,000.000 for the foreign rights of publication, something like four times the amount he has received from Germany since the revolution, and is pretty likely to get it. A complete self-rev- elation of that singular man would be worth much more than $1.000.000. During intervals of conference business the Italian and Jugoslav delegates to the Genoa conference were In megotiation respecting Fiume. _It is said that sensible understandings were reached. If a real “honest to goodness” solution of the Fiume problem was achieved at Genoa, that by-product alone justified the conference. A peasant congress of delegates from Bul- garia, Jugoslavia, Rumania and Poland was opened in Sofia, Bulgaria, on May 25 Fifty thousand delegates were expected, but only some 10,000 turned up. Nevertheless, watch that green (peasant) movement. The agarian government of Bulgaria is about to propose a law which would exclude lawyers and professors from the sobranje or national assembly. A worse law is imagin- able, The council of the league of nations has, at the request of the Tirana government, decided that the league shall asume 2 financial and economic protectorate over Albania. The famine in the Crimea and the Ukraine is sald to be getting as bad as ever it was in the Volga area. Nansen's agents in Rusia declare that 15,000,000 people will die in Russia this vear. Cholera and typhus, they say, are slay- ing_those whom hunger spares. The Pope has sent another protest to the league of nations against the Palestine man- date, on the ground that is is prejudical to religious equality It is the opinion of the members of the league of nations temporary mixed commission on armaments that the Russo-German treaty and the Genoa conference have given a serious cetback to the chances of important re- ductions of land armaments, especially the former. licemen, 1ift boys, in shops and offices, blacks and whites, is a pleasant revelation. In our independent young dominion, you get a polite “yes” or *no,” but ma'am 18 a term unknown, and madam a rare expression. The American man has a reputation for being very con- siderate for women. but the too fre- | quent spectacle of men—young, edu- cated men—sitting in cars while jwomen strap hang, would merit a men and women 300 tons of tungsten, which yielded a | and therefore the assurance of per- petual peace between the L'nlled' States and Great Britain is the thing most to be desired and should be seeing car gallons of in- formation are megaphoned period of architecture is this?"” he asked across the banquet table. ’ . | sharp rebuke in the colonies. = HEN vou rush through|a man sat gazing meditatively aloft| frennees o jarring wote into thelr Washington in a sight-|at the terrible magnificence. “What|customary courtesy. The epidemic of hard blues, which has swept this country from coast to N 3 HOUSE SOON TO SLOW UP ITS LEGISLATIVE GRINDING Already Has Sent Many More Measures to Senate Than That Body Will Be Able to Digest. BY WILL P. KENNEDY. HE House is about ready to shut down its legislative mill with many important pro- posals unconsidered, including several major measures to which the administration is emphatically com- mitted. The only new legislation that has any chance of passing the House is the ship subsidy bill, and that only because of the insistence of President Harding. This disposition on the part of the House is based on two considerations: IFlrll. the House has already sent to the Senate more measures of prime importance than the Senate can pass at this session. Second, with a threat- ened deficit of $250,000,600 to $400,000,- 000, the House members do not want to take the responsibility for initiat- ing legislation that would call for vast expenditures. such as the Smith- McNary reclamation bill, $350.000,000 the Towner-Sterling bill for a de- partment of education, $100.000.000, and the ship subsidy bill, $50.000.000. If any big appropriation was possi- ble, the one most needed, and for is for an omnibus public building biil. Since they cannot have that the House members are set against any of the new measures calling for ap- propriations. Lald Before the Preaident. This is, in substance, the way that House Leader Mondell sized up the situation to President Harding last week. - Get this picture: The average mem- ber has before his mind's eve all fGe time that threatened deficit in the next fiscal year, which shifts, accord- | ing to the temper of the one making the estimate. from $250,000,000 |0; $400,000,000. Furthermore, the House{ has passed quite an array of bills of primary importance, which the Sen- ate has not considered, or. if consid- ered. has not passed, of which the tariff and the soldiers’ bonus are most consplcuous. There are five appropriation bills still pending; the Navy scrapping bill, of primary importance to carry out the treaty; the Sterling-Lehibagh re- classification bill, the Liberian loan bill, the Philippine indebtedness the anti-lynching bill, the “blue sk legislation, a new immigration meas- ure and the China trade bill, among others. | May Pass Ship Subsidy. | House Leader Mondell admits that fthere may be an exception made by the House in the case of the ship very anxious to have it considered at an early date. Representative Ed- in charge of this measure, says that a rewritten bill will probably be in- troduced in the House this week. with the prospect that it will be passed at this session. In the com- mittee opposition comes from the south, and when the measure gets into the legislative chamber oppo: consideration of this measure until they can get back home and sound lout the sentiment of the voters. House Leader Mondell admits that there is some disposition on the re- publican side not to take the matter up, at least until after the House membership is here in larger num- bers, for consideration of conference reports on the tariff and soldiers’ bonus measures, and until they have had an opportunity of studying the bill as it i8 reported to the House from the merchant marine committee This feeling does not relate entirely to the ship subsidy measure itself. but is in accordance with the general sentiment that the House has aiready passed more legislation than the Sen ate can possibly take eare of. and. therefore. there is no special rush. Ship subsidy legislation may Ilowa and Nebraska want to put off be which there is the greatest pressure,} subsidy biil, because the President is| monds of Pennsylvania, who has been | | brougnt about at any cost and by any sacrifice. Canada Not on List. Should this be accomplished Great Britain could then cancel all debts and_interest due from its allles on condition of their doing likewise among themselves, and the United States then remembering the few millions paid for the Louisiana pur- chase—worth many' millions now— could easily and should willingly can- cel France's debt and interest due, for which in turn, France could give tae United States French Guiana, which is not of much value to the French government, economically or strate- glcally. Dutch Guiana could then be ac- quired by the United States, as the government of the Netherlands would undoubtedly be most willing to do her share for such a certain scheme of world peace, and the remaining foreign possession could be also ac- quired and the United States would then be in a position to feel more than ever that the Monroe doctrine was really in_ existence. nada would remain as a British possesslon and Bermuda possibly as a naval and coaling place, but the At- lantic coast line and the gulf states) and, last, but not least, the Panama canal would be safe from any sud- den aggression and the South Ameri- can and Central American states would be free from any férelgn in- fluence or foreign odcupation. GEORGE EUSTIS CORCORAN. Attack in Senate On Gov. Harding Reports that W. P. G. Harding, gov- ernor' of the Federal Reserve Board, would be reappointed to membership in that body upon the expiration of his present term, August 1, brought a renewal of attacks on the reserve board officlal yesterday by Senator Heflin, democrat, Alabama. The re- port that Mr. Harding would be Te- appointed “absolutely confirmed every statement” that had beea made, Mr. Heflin_said, in reiterating his charge that the board was controlled by “the money changers of Wall street.” The President, the Alabama senator de- clared, should have ed for the governor's resignation long ago, but did not because “Wall street says he is our jewel.” He reviewed again the assaults he has made on the reserve board and _ its “deadly deflation policy.” adding that the Senate re- publicans were now seeking to put through the tariff measure to con- tinue in the favor of “Wall street.” Reference to the deflation policy brought from Senator Gooding, re- publican, Idaho, the question as to when that policy was applied, and Mr. Heflin said it was invoked “the minute the republicans got control of Congress.” into your receptive ear. Great chunks ot history are heaved at you; you swallow indegistible facts, and your very vision is blurred by the admir- ing ignorance of vour meighbor, the one with the gander neck, who cranes his head from side to side in an endeavor to see both ways at once. You don't learn Washington that way—you are merely introduced. A number of people see Europe in similar fashion. It is like reading the title on & book. Washington is a city which yields its, greatest treasures on (‘ntimate acquaintance, and whose beauty Is not enhanced by vision from afar. Veiled in a charitable mist, thé harsh outlines softened, so many great cities look their best when a distant per- spective has crowded stesples and,; towers, domes and factories, into a dim silhouette against the sky. Not so with Washington. You creep into its very heart, and find charm ever before you, around and above you. I listened in hard. I too, had been curious to know. “Early Coney Island,” drawling reply. came the In the dark ages when taliow can- dles were the sole Illluminant, how Jour ancestors longed for iizht. To- day the brilllance of electricity has palled. Its maliclous glare has be- trayed us, our age and our blemishes, despite the depth of camouflage. In America, the home of electricity, you dine in the dim cathedral light of shaded candles, where it is as hard to guess the age of your vis-a-vis as it is to know when you have finished the course. You go prospecting all around your plate, on the off chance of encountering another crumb. Not that the portion has been small, hut mayhap so deliclous that you fa!n would polish the plate, like pussy. Then you sit In a gloomy room, the lamp with downcast eyés. illuminat- ing the lower levels, the present _skirt affording little shelter for your coast, and for which poor Princess Mary has been blamed, has had a (Continued from First Page.) to produce an_adequate income for the railways. The dilemma confront- ing the commission was to keep rates at a level which would produce thst {income on the one hand and yet avoid throttling industry on the other hand. The com! sion has considered this dilemma with a keen sense of its own responsibility both to the public and to the carriers, and on the whole has met the problems with broad vision. ! When it came to formulate the re- cent decision, the Interstate Com- merce Commission first concluded that some downward revision in freight rates was necessary. While the needs of the carriers for a more nearly adequate net income was fully recog. nized. yet the necessities of the gen- eral economic readjustment could not be ignored. The commission next determined what the rate reduction should be. in terms of annual railway revenue. The final problem, and in some ways the most difficult, was to decide in what directions the revenue should be passed before the recess. It may be considered the best time to take it up when the members are here wait- bills to come out of conference. Likely to Be Lost. Taking this view of the situation leaves a number of important legi lative proposals that have been con- sidered, or which are in some stage of the legislative process, which are not at all likely to come up this ses- sion. The education bill ran into the dou- ble snag. It provides for a new place in the cabinet, at a time when the whole question of administrative or- ganization is awaiting consideration by a joint special committee, and when the cabinet is unable to agree upon even a tentative plan of reor- ganization that the administration will support. Besides this the educa- tion bill calls for a very large ap- propriation in the near future, and that alone is sufficient to defeat its passage. Then there is the departmental re- organization that President Harding promised the voters-of the country. and on which he cannot force an agreement in his own cabinet, even after his own personal representative submitted a tentative scheme fer re- arrangement and co-ordination of the {various federai establishments. |gABain. there is a bill introduced by Representative Snell of New York which is supported by a very strong public sentiment, calling for co-oper- ation with the states for the protec- tion of timberlands—which also falls under the ban, because it means an additional appropriation There are various bills for addi- tional appropriations for agricul- tural extension work. Public Buildings Needed. Of ali the measures that might have 2 compelling force in Congress from the standpoint of localities, the public buildings bill would come first. La ing aside the question and Four Corners’ aspirations public buildings. it is a fact that most every large city of the coun: finds the public service suffering from lack of adequate. sanitary, fireproof quarters. It is five vears since any- thing was done by the governmeyt to improve this general situation is a strong and legitimate appeal for public expenditure for new federal buildings, but here again the diffi- culty arises out of the financial situ- tion—the threatened deficit The action of the Senate committee in reporting out the soldiers’ bonus bill without the reclamation feature, although House Leader Mordell had made a persistent fight 1o have it re- tained, blasts the hopes of the west for any geseral reclamation work j this session. The Smith-McNary bill. entailing an apporpiation of $350.- 000,000, never had any, hopes in this Congress unless it could be put in as an amendment on the bonus bill. In the House, only thirty-six of the 435 members, a mere § per cent, are from states interested in irrigation —so it is easy to see how slight a chance this measure has. of Podunk's for Not Interested in Irrigation. With those interested in educa- jtional bills, forest preservation bills, tion will come from the great agri- | a€ricultural extension bills, public cultural section of the west. The |building bills and others of wide leaders from Minnesota, Kansas. |general interest demanding an oppor tunity to press these measures, any | measure proposing a large expegdi- ture principally in one section ofthe country—such as the reclamation bill ! —would receive scant consideration without regard for fts intrinsic merits The floor leader of undoubtedly favorable to fhe recla- mation legislation. but the temper of the House can be judged from the fact that, while largely through Mr. Mondell's efforts, the bonus bill car- ried the reclamation feature, the Sen- ate, with 30 per cent of its members from irrigation states, declined to retain the reclamation features in the bonus bill. And it is only the persistent insivt- ence of President Harding that can force the west to allow the ship sub- sidy bill to pass at this session the House is 'Reduction in Freight Rates | And Readjustment of Business improvement will in turn so increase the freight traffic of the railwavs as to offset the loss in net income re- sulting from the lower rate level Whether this hope will be fully rei ized remains to be seen, but the de- cision is at any rate an earnest at- tempt toward solving our difficuit problem of economic readjustment. The decision of the commission was followed within a week by the first of a cvcle of wage reductions author- ized by the Railroad Labor Board, which will apply to all classes of railway employes except those in train service. It is estimated that these wage reductions, which will be- come effective simultaneously with the rate reductions as of July 1, will approximate §150,000,000 per year, or $90.000,000 less than_the rate reduc- tions. That is, railway revenues have been cut $240,000,000 and their ex- penses $150 000,000 the difference must be made up by increased traffic or by enforced economies. One feature of the decision has re- ceived comparatively littie attention, although in some ways it is of more vital importance than the question of You have architectural beauty also feet. the pendulum. companies this gloom. historic them: replicas It is the inevitable swing of The delight in ancient furniture ac- Old rungs and legs are retrieved from the attic, and are built around It you have an old draw knob. you can build a bureau on to lit.\ The revolt against modern mag- | nificence is part of the spirit of the age. It has gone the limit, and the reversion to colonial types may lead to the resuscitation-of ancient charms which embellished that period. You may flap on the sun poreh, with its wicker and gaudy chints, ‘Would merit a sharp rebuke in the colonies. truly unnerving effect. Hats, suits, scarfs, stockings—all hard periwinkle or lavender blues. in many cases, had been matched from memory, and were a viclous half-tone out. They screamed to high heaven for sup- pression, and if ever there was justi- fication for a blue law, it was then. A slight recrudescence is sometimes apparent, but the worst of the visita- N 11y, seems over. but you | tion: BaPPIIY S over. {reduced. Should it be a considerabie Ireduction on selected commodities only, or a moderate reduction on ail commodities? There were many who argued, and with much show of reason. that the reductions should be applied to the basic commodities, such as coal, iron and steel, bullding materials and the like, whereas high-grade manufac- tured products and merchandise should be left without adjustment for the present. They maintained that this would do ~more to assist the process of industrial rehabilitation than a uniform horizontal reduction on all commodities. Others argued that because freight rates went up during the war period in a series of horizontal increases they should come down in the same way. Inasmuch as economic readjustment Sat gasing meditatively aloft at e Illflb‘ le magnificence. Be —the Capitol, the Monument, the Lin- coln Memorial—with grace _of line cannot do more than demurely fiirt when you sit on a sofa with even one old Sheraton leg. How can you? Daylight - saving .is the latest economy in Washington. Whose day- light gets saved, anyway? The aver- age person does not save any—they have more to squander. That extra hour stolen from the morning's sleep, is not put back into the pillow at night. It is usually spent bemoaning the loss of precious sleep; not saved, Just frittered away like small change. The present system recalls Rory O'Moore's prescription for longevity: “The best of all ways to lengthen your days, I8 to steal a few hours from the nights, my dears.” out within. spect Rock Few American women like-tea, be- cause they don't know real tea. is the reason. coffee is an institution, and they do make good coffee, but ‘tea is merely You can't make tea by pouring warm water over & bunch of imprisoned vegetation. like good tea you see that you get good tea, and when you get good tea you cannot help liking it. With us it is a sacred rite. beverage usually served grows pale at the first drop of cream, and its identity 1s completely lost. T trle one brand, and not being enthusiastic . about the soiled water which trickled | of rates which attempted to follow 1 Anspected the tea I #ound strange ene _suggestive of “autumn in I abandoned this mixture, and tried another best brand | Some as against others. and a bunch of boiled saplings re- At last I have found | become stabilized. amd believe that an affectation. When you The anemic the spout, reek Park.” warded me. some real tea, and when the kettle! freight ral boils, well, T don't mind if you have | the has been setting a different pace in 1different industries, the proponents of Here | a selective method of reductions were able to produce strong arguments in support of their position. Further- more, there were many interests that brought pressure to bear upon the commission in favor of this poli That the commission withstood this pressure end arrived at a decision golely on the basis of its own judg- ment as to the merits of the case speaks well for the courdge and inde- pendence of that body. Furthermore, the commission was doubtless aware that a readjustment I tried the trend of general economic read- justment would have meant the un- ‘pleasant task of choosing between industries and of seeming to favor In the long run all economic readjustments must with it the on all commodities, and commizgion evidently came to the botanic whether the reserve board's program had not had ¢ cratic secretaries of Heflin. “He wad not a democrat. 1 long since repudiated his He was & with Wall street The Idaho senator then inquired and simple at which splendor of of color, as port of demo- d !:e Treasury. “Oh,” you mean Houston,” replfed democraey. and liked to stand like other republi- dignity. They are shrines to worship. The ornate the , with its rush enter, will fade from memory long before this trio, In one of New York's 1 dripped. gilt Cuplds from every rafter, palatial hotels, which - The forelgners who say Americans are ill-mannered have probably based their opinion on a few unfortunate itinerant specimens. The American at home is usually most courteous. | The reiterated “Yes, ma'am,” and “No, prohibition in America. Old Glory figures largely in Amer- fcan life. Your patriotism runs more to flags than ours. Few but officials float the Union Jack, but we top and concerts, picture functions—with although not unanimousiy. that its duty was to adjust rates for the long pull, and not for the needs of the immediate economic situation. In its last analysis this rate reduc- tion is an expression of the commis- sion’s_hope that the lower rates will contribute to an improvéement in gen- conclusion. eral business conditions, and that this!sdjustment now under way. rate adjustment. Under the trans- portation act the commission must, trom time to time. fix the fair rate of return, against which the level of freinght and passenger rates is to be measured. Up to March 1, 1822, this fair rate had been fixed by the com- mission at 6 per cent. Under the re- cent decision the rate is reduced to 5% per cent. In reaching a determi- nation of the rate of return, the com- mission took into account the fact that it is a tax-free return. under the accounting rules of the commission. and also took notice of the fact that interest rates in the open market have declined of % of 1 per cent in the fair rate of return may not seem important. al- though it means & loss of $50,600,000 of annual net income to the railways. In its psychological aspect, however, the reduction was of grea' impor- tance, and may have a decided effect on the credit of the railways, and of public utilities generally, in the se- curity markets of the world. The psychology of this lies in the attitude of investors, who will refuse to buy railway securities, except at a rate of return which they consider attractive. oy S ing for the tariff or soldiers’ bonus . e In itself. a reduction » 4 At present the level at which the = fair rate of return is fixed is an aca- demio question, because the railways have earned only 3% per cent per annum on their value during the twenty-one months that the increased retes of 1920 have been in effect. 1 This is despite the fact that those . rates were designed to produce a § per cent return. The time is coming, however, when the railways may rea- sonably expect a higher actual rate of return than 3% per cent. When their actual rate approaches the theo- = retical fair rate fised by the com- mission this reduction of the fair rate from 6 per cent to 5% per cent will have much greater significance than . may seéem to be the case at present. In fact, the change in the fair rate, of return 1s, in my opinion. the mo important feature of the decision will undoubtedly play a part not in rate readjustments in the fu but algo In the general economic re= only} v