Evening Star Newspaper, January 14, 1923, Page 41

g EDITORIAL SECTION NATIONAL PROBLEMS SPECIAL ARTICLES Part 2—14 Pages PLAN TO CAPTURE G. 0. P. AND 1924 NOMINATION 'Progressiv »s Believe Extension of Direct Primaries Will Give Them Party Control. BY G. GOULD ANCOLN, HROUGH the medium of presi- dential preferential primary aws in the various states, the progressives hope to be able to control the next republican na- tional convention and to nominate a progressive on the republican ticket for President. This is true also, in a measure, of the progressive wing of the demo- cratic party. But in the past there las been no such pronounced de- markation between conservatives and progressives in the democratic ranks as in the republican. The interest in the fight for progressive control, therefore, centers largely in the re- publican fleld of action. Advoeates Direct Primary. The new progressive bloe in Con- gress—which by the way is composed of both republicans and democrats— has announced a campaign in the in- terest of the direct primary to select nominecs for President, Vice Presi- dent and members of Congress. And the progressive group outside of Congress also is working on the mat- ter vigorous| The elections held last November, undoubtedly, have been a vast en- couragement to the progressives. The suceess of Brookhart in lowa, Ship- wtead in Minnesota, Howell in Ne- braska, Wheeler in Montana. all new men elected to the Senate, i con- sidered of the greatest significance jorities rolled up by La Whsconsin and Hiram ornia in the elec- have heartened the pro- lette Johnson Seventeen Primary Laws. At present seventeen of the states have good, medium or indifferent primary laws for the selection of delegates to the national conventions. These states and the number of delegates to which they were entitled In the last republi- can national convention are as follows: Callfornia, twenty-six; Illinois, fifty- sight: Tndiana, thirty; Maryland, six- teen; Massachusetts, thirty-five; Michi- gan, thirty: Montana, eight: Nebraska, sixteen ; North Dakota, ten ; new Jerser, twenty-eight; North Carolina, twenty- two; Ohio, forty-eight: Oregon, ten: Pennsyivania, seventy-six: South Da- kota, ten; West Vi v teen, and Wisconsin, twents-six. The total num- ber of delegates to be telected from these states is 463. The republican na- tional convention is made up of 984 delegates, each with a vote. Necassary 1o select a Presidential nominee is a ‘majorits, or 493. Manifestly, the progressives, even if they carried the primary elections in Rll the seventeen states now having presidential preferential primaries of ©ne kind or another, would not control a ‘majority of the delegates. But this winter the legislatures are meeting in At least nine of the other strenuous efforts to bring about the enactment of model Presidential preferential primary laws, Where Fight Will Be Made. These states and the number of dele- gates alloted them are: New York, eighty-eight: Minnesota, twenty-four; Towa, twenty- Missouri, thirty-six; XKansas, twenty; Oklahoma, twenty; Colorado. twelve; Idaho, eight, and Washington fourteen, The total num- ber of delegates from these states to ¥epublican convention will be 248, Add $his number to the 465 of the states giready having some kind of a primary faw, and you have a grand total of 713, pr far more than a majority. To each one of these state legislatures the progressives will send representa- tives who will Jo thelr utmost to have primary laws put through. It is be- Jieved that they will be successful in a number of states. If the progressive wing of the re- Publican party is able to dominate the natlonal convention through the Belection of delegates in primary elections, instructed delegates, what will bs the chances of the old guard tominating a presidential candidate? Kn progressive quarters, it is frankly declared that the old guard won't have a look in. What will be the ef- fect upon the chances of President Harding, if he decides to become a candidate for re-nomination—as naw | trol, and to prevent the nomination of | for serving mankind. #eems probable. ates where | Not unnaturally the old guard, or conservative wing, of the republican party is not going to sit down and permit the progressives to run away with the situation if it can help it. It will be remembered that a year ago President Harding created a stir | of considerable magnitude when he made a speech attacking the spread of the direct primary. Secretary of War Weeks, in an address, criticised vigorously the direct primary system, and only a few days ago, Senator Ball of Delaware, speaking in Phila- delphia, predicted the downfall of the system of party government in this country. and the abolition of repre- sentative government in this coun- try unless there shall be a return to the convention plan of nominating candidates for President, for Congress and for other offices. | 1In Indiana today. where a Presiden- tial primary law is now on the books. a battle has begun by the party ma- chine to repeal this law so far as it applies to the President and Vice Presigent, senators and governors. The conservative element is striving desperately to do away with the pri- marles except so far as they relate 10 members of the House and local offictals. It is extremely doubtful, however, that they will succeed, it is said. i The Primaries in 1024, ‘The republican national convention |in 1920, after being deadlocked for | many votes, selected as its nominee for President, Warren G. Harding, |now President. President Harding's | name had been submitted to the re- publican voters of a number of | states where presidential preferential | primaries were the order of the day, but with little success. Maj. Gen. Wood and Senator Hiram Johnson had carrled a number of state pri- maries. Senator La Follette of Wis- consin of course had that state's dele- gation sewed up, and former Gov. Lowden of Illinois had his state dele- gation and those of some of the others. The progress while declaring for direct primaries for the nomina- tion of President and Vice President, ! |nave so far made no effort to get! together on any candidates. Tn fact,! at their meeting here not long ago, it specifically announced that the bloc would make no effort to pick candi- |dates. But when the pre-convention | campaign draws nearer, it is to be ex- pected that efforts will be made to center on ‘this or that outstanding progressive for President. It is ex- tremely problematical, however, whether they will be able to pick a candidate whom all the progressives in the repub- lican party will be willing to support. Three Outstanding Figures. { The three outstanding figures in the movement today are Senators| Hiram Johnson of California, Borah | »f Idaho and La Follette of Wiscon-| sin. Each has his following. Se ator Johnson ran on the old bulll moose ticket with Theodore Roosevelt | in 1912. He was a contender for the nomination for President at the last national convention, and had a large following. It is to be expected he will make a bid for the nomination in 1924. Senator La Follette, it is be- lieved, will have the support of his own state delegation and also of some of the other northwestern states. Sen- ator Borah's following throughout the country has increased very greatly in the last two vears. His greatest drawback is that he comes from a state which has only eight electoral| votes, Only recently Senator Johnson and Senator Borah split wide apart on the subject of an international economic conference, which was proposed by the Tdaho senator. What effect this difference between the two men will have when it comes to the race for presidential nomination remains to be seen. | But, even though the progressives go into the convention supporting a number of candldates, if they go into the convention with a considerable | majority of the delegates in the ag- | gregate, they may be able to con- | & conservative Jefferson and Franklin Rivals In Invention, but Close Friends The Sunduy WASHINGTON, D. C, SU. DAY MORNING, JANUARY 14, 1923. Congress Eager to Avoid Extra Session, But Farmer Relief Bills Are Nightmare BY N. O. MESSENGER. RESIDENT HARDING, it has been made known, does not see anything in the legislative situation in Con- gress, or in international affairs which might necessitate an extraordinary session of the next Congress. He foresees the constitutional interregnum from March 4 until the first Monday in next December. Knowledge of the President’s attitude upon the subject is expected to stimulate both houses to speed up work on the pend- ing measures of importance and the supply bills, preparatory to a “get away” at noon of March 4. It is thought that not even the failure of the merchant marine bill w-uld result in the calling of an extra sessioii. * ¥ kK While the attention of the public has been diverted to watching the march of events in the Franco-German affair, the Senate has been discussing and committees con- sidering rural credits and farmers’ relief, the debates and committee talks bringing out divergent opinions on the subjects. Senator McCumber, in a set speech in the Senate the other day, disclosed a new angle to the credits proposition. He said that the farmers in the cereal growing states do not want more credits; they say they have bor- rowed until their borrowings are as much as their property can sustain, and they . realize that borrowing from one kind of a bank to pay another is not reducing their debts one cent. Creditors are willing to give any extension if the farmers can fur- nish any reasonable assurance of ability to pay in the future. But they do need some kind of as- sistance, for in some states they find that after raising bumper crops their expenses are so great that they have not enough left to pay the taxes on their land. The demand is coming in that the government buy the crop on hand at $2 a bushel for wheat, with a guarantee that for the next crop the same price shall be guaranteed. Strangely enough, some bankers, who but lately were loud in denunciation of the paternalistic and social- istic theories of the farmers, finding them- selves pinched by the farmers’ adversity, are shouting louder than the farmers them- selves for government price fixing. * % ¥ ¥ Senator McCuniber pointed out the num- ber of measures now pending before the Congress for the relief of the farmer, There are the many provisions in the agricultural appropriation bill to assist him. There is the Capper bill to help the stock-raising in- dustry; then the Lenroot bill for rural credits will soon be reported to the Senate; then the Norris fund creating a2 hundred-mil- lion-dollar government fund for rural credits; and the Bursum bill to loan to Ger- many a billion dollars with which to pur- chase American products. The farmer has no right to complain of interest in his wel- fare and of lack of efforts to apply it. * ok k% It is not believed that Congress will listen to the demand that the government should fix the price of the farmers’ wheat, for there will immediately come the cry for the same treatment with oats, barley, corn and cot- ton. Neither is it thought that the project of inducting the government into the busi- ness of buying and selling the farmers’ products will receive the sanction of Con- gress. The country has had experience with government operating of railroads, which was disastrous. The farmers, during the war, had experience with the governgental fixing of the minimum price of wheat, which, it is contended, did not work out to their advantage because they would have obtained more for it if competition had existed. * K Kk “An industrial world, with its human pos- sibilities, where the star of individuality, hope-and aspiration never sets and where the penalty of sloth, indifference and in- efficiency is never remanded, is just as necessary for the growth of intellectuality and genius as the free air of heaven to life itself” is Senator McCumber’s idea of the answer to the appeals for socialistic and paternalistic theories. But he has a plan which he thinks will give the farmer real assistance. He pro- pnses counter-organization by the farmers in their own behalf. He asserts that without any organization to fix the price of the farmer’s products, he is the victim of organi- zations which have boosted the price of everything he must purchase. He offers a remedy, admiting that it is a radical de- parture from old methods of marketing farm products. This is counter-organization—an organiza- tion which will withhold every bushel of wheat from the market until a living price therefor is secured; that will hold every hog and steer, every bale of cotton until a just and living price is realized. This is to be accomplished under federal supervi- sion, the farmers in each state organizing and being in touch with a federal board which provides a system of terminal marketing and instructs the farmer in finding the best market to prevent glutting the market and lowering prices. ¥ * ok kK That sounds kind of ominous to the con- sumer, who knows what this “stabilizing of prices” means to him. It will mean stabi- lizing them higher and higher—for that is fhe farmers’ hope and object. It looks like a farmers’ trust built along the lines of some of the “wicked trusts” in industry, which the Supreme Court chopped up only to see the separated parts grow astonish- Well, it is all very perplexing. The rea- son for dealing with the subject in this chapter is to arouse interest in very im- portant affairs that are brewing on Capitol Hill, as well as concern over things three thousand miles overseas. whim of a courtler. The faded leather upholstery 1s secured by closely set brass nails. In Jefferson’s bequest of this object to Monroe one may see a reminder of the strong personal friendship that existed between these two great men. { An examination of Jefferson’s meticu- | lous dlary and record of expenses re- | veals that the pair, together with Madison, made frequent trips about the ‘ country, the expenses being lumped and then divided a la “Dutch treat.” An interesting “sidelight” on Jeffer- son’s. personal endeavor to forward the country’s sclentific and industrial progress 1s afforded by his work dur- ing Washington's _administration, when he became kmown as the “father of the patent office.” He su- pervised the organization of this office and, it is sald, personally examined every application for patent that was made during his service in the cabi- net. Austrian Tribute For Judge Payne Judge John Barton Payne, chairman of the American Red Cross, was pre- sented with the star of merit of the Austrian Red Cross, the highest honor ‘within the gift of the Austrian republic, at ceremonies at National Red Cross headquarters Friday. Edgar L. G. Prochnik, charge d'af- faires of Austria, who presented the decoration, thanked Judge Payne on the behalf of Austria for the work done by the American Red Cross in that country since the signing of the armistice, making particular mention of the reliet work carried on among the children. Mr. Prochnik declared that his country was profoundly touched by the magnanimous generosity of “the greatest mother in the world,” who was endeared to every man, woman and child in Austria. Accepting the decoration, Chairman Payne said: “On behalf of the Amer- ican Red Cross I accept with feelings of gratitude and appreciation this distinguished honor. It is a pleasure to realize that the American Red Cross was equal to its opportunities Not so long ago America was at war with Austria, but this makes no difference with the Red Cross, which seeks only to serve all mankind.” Col. Ernest P. Bicknell, who pre- sided, told of the struggles of the Austrian people, particularly the children, after the war. The Amer- lcan Red Cross, he sald, three years ago ‘established its first unit in ‘Vienna, and since that time $4,600,000 As famous men presently become say that this relice is an.object of |had been spent by it in work among ®ut great shades of a long past pe- riod, it happens that only the memory of their best known achievements re- smalns in the popular mind. Even ®ome of thelr salient characteristics mre obliterated by time’s brush if ghere is no recording Boswell at hand. Few there are today who remem- Per that amid the problems of con- structive statesmanship that so hard- iy tested the mentality of Thomas Jefterson he found relaxation in the gnvention of various scientific and in< @ustrial devices, including a pedome- ter, a hemp-break and that necessity ©f the modern office, the revolving desk chair. The press of the time wvas merciless in its comment on this hew-fangled convenlence. One read of the “President’s whirligig,” which he is accredited with having devised #30 that he can look in all directions &t once.” In the collection of historical welics in the old building of the Na- tional Museum one may see, not the Jeftersonian revolving chair, but 2 mort of writing chalr he designed and fused at Monticello until the day of big death, Tha kindesy beauty. It is of ordlnary pine and resembles nothing so much as a very | waybacked one-arm lunch chair. Its |legs suggest those of a camp stool, | although it does not.fold up. - Alto- | mether it is dismally prophetic of the ugly convenience of Someé contem- porary furniture. But it' does look very comfortable, and its seat and back‘date covered with sturdy calf. A fine. plece of furniture to. rest in, but not.to behold. R Contrasting with this chair is an. other owned by Jefferson which is now in the same collection. This handsome product of colonial days has tho added distinction of having been actually made by the hands of Benjamin Franklin, master - crafts- mian, diplomat, printer, statesman, in- ventor, writer—a jack of all trades and mastser of all. Franklin present- ed the chair to Jefferson, who In turn bequeathed it to Monroe. It is of mahogany with gold bandings that are now just discernible, a splendid bit of craftsmanship in the best colo- nial gtyle, slender-legged but strong. Its lines are simple enough te suit an the sick in hospitals and the under- nourished children throughout Aus- tria. When the work was turned over te the native agencies last June 101 child-health centers had been es- tablished by the Red Cross. Mme. Prochnik, wife of the charge d'affaires, and Miss Mabel T. Board- man, secretary of the American Red Cross were present at the ceremonies. Reviews World Tour, Dr. Louis A. Bauer, director of the department of terrestial magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of this eity, told members of the Arts Club of his recent trip around the world in the interest of science, at a meeting of the club Friday night, at 2017 I street northwest. Dr. Bauer attended the international scientific meetings at Rome, in May, 1922, and inspected the magnetic ob- servatory of the Carnegle Institution in western Australia. During his trip| he made arrangements for special sclentifioc observations in connection with the olar eclipse of Septem! | “ASTIS By William | Note.—In publishing this ar- | | ticle by the“brilltant editor of | | the Emporia Gazette The Star does not necessarily indorse the views he expresses. gut Mr. White brings to the difcussion of current events a fertile mind and an entertaining.style, and a discriminating pubile will place its own valmation upon the opinions he advances. SHN CORBIN, a New York author and newspeper man, has writ- ten a most Important book. It is published by Scribner's and I1s titled, “The Return of the 3iddle ! Cla The thesls of the book is We here on this continent a peculiar civ- | ilization, governed and dominated in |its most important activities by the | middle class. That class is in con- tinual struggle with the two minori- tles, one above it and one below ft, plutocracy and the proletariat—for short, capital and labor. The middle class has something as precious as money or brawn, something, indeed, more necessary than either to & Chris- tian civilization—the thing called skill, the business of knowing how, the rare gift of “sabbe” The free play and employment of that middle class talent 1s, or should be, the chief end of man in government. But the greed of capita] and the arrogance of organized labor leaders in the ruth- less struggle for profits and wages are threatening the extinction of the middle class gift, breaking down its market value, denying the distinction which skill should have in the indus- trial and social order. And so the middle class has been threatened. The “new poor’—that id to say, the man on a'mlary, the clerk, the teacher, the small merchant, the ordl- nary professional—have during the last decade found thelr income cur- | tafled, their worth to soclety ques- tioned by diminishing economic status; and 8o a menace hangs over our civilization. Mr. Corbin advo- cates the exaltation of the home and the settlement of labor disputes by such organization of labor as will permit_its participation in the man- agement of industry when skill, en- couraged by the organization, de- velops capacity, The author dreams of an industrial republic in. which the business ' of homemaking and childbearing will have a definitely recognized Industrial status.. By making a place in the middle class a reward of exceptitonal qualities, and by making the descent from the capi- tallst class easy and inevitable when high managerial talent falls, Mr. Cor- bin seems to feel that we may weather whatever political and social storms are lowering in the offing and maintain America as the land of the free and the home of the brave, meaning the middle class. So much is being written and pub. lished .these days by the protagon- ists of the other classes that s word for the neglected middle olass is rather startling., It is fashionablein the pearl pink parlors of soclalism to sniff at the middle class—to call it nanies, to sneer at its Phariseelsm, to magnify its stupldity, ‘to pretend that it has no virtue except that which is determined by its advan- tage. The highbrow hoots at the middle class and the lowbrow snarls at it. Plutocracy regards the middle class as its oyster and labor leaders and communists treat it as'a poor fish. It is really roast beef medium on the social bill of fare, and pretty good stuff withal. And it is curious that in & great middle class oiviliza- tion, such as America, is, no one has Americans have built up| EE IT.” Allen White. | troubles and perils until Mr. Corbin | came along. R Well, he has done a first-class job. His book Is worth any man's time who would consider a vital subject seriously and intelligently. “The Re- turn of the Middle Class” will not be u& best seller, but it is a best reader, Barring Wat Whitman. sznch.\'s were doubtless thrilled the other day to read that one of the Slavic nation of middle Eu- rope had barred Walt Whitman's poems because they were too radical. In America Walt Whitman is the poet of our militant democracy. He has influenced the thinking of more liv- ing Americans than any other poet, probably. That proposition assumes that those who think, not those who merely jabber, are included in the category of Whitman's Influence. Whitman s in verse what Andy Jack- son and the populists were in poli- tles. Roosevelt had a strong strain of . Whitmanesque democracy In his heart, with a jigger of Machiavelian absblutism as a regulator. The Whit- man corpuscles in our veins never have driven us to violence, but they have given us a certain national im- pudence that helps. They may affect the Magyars differently. One man's meat is another man's poison. But to put Walt Whitman upon the ex- purgated list seems as odd as it would be if some fine morning we should goj out into the front yard, dig the Ppaper out of the snow and find that the, bolshevists had barred that dear and ! incorrigible old conservative, ‘Walt Mason, from Russla. Hugging the Old Delusion. PARIS dispatch declares- that France is seriously considering an excursion into Russia to restore the Russlan monarchy. Gen. Baron Wrangel seems to think that with French military ald, French muni- tions and equipment he can take 40,- 000 men and conquer the bolshevists. The general baron falled not long ago to conquer Russla with twice that number of men. And during the past five years half a dozen other generals and admifals, with ten timest 40,000 men, have tackled Russia and have not made even a dent in her armor, ‘Why' not try reason? - The Russians are human. They have & mad government, -but’ it is more or less dependent upon popular consent, though, of course, not so much as other civilized governments, but somewhat. If the allies care to appeal by decent treatment of Rus- sla, by unmistakably disinterested and humanitarian measures to the Russian people, it may put Christian clvilization further into Russia than all of Wrangel's impotent guns. And, anyway, what has war done for this world that we should try it again? DI it avail humanity any- thing -‘when. the. whole World went to war? .Who is worse off, the victim or the victors? What creed is estab- lished In the world by force? Cer- tainly ‘ nbt ‘democracy. A score of million men. are dead and wounded. And for what? Why hug the old de- lusion that war will make nien free? Hasn't the human race any intelli- gence left? Gonme' Are the Days. GLJOW soon we are forgotien when we're gone,” sighed Rip Van Winkle. A republican President vetolng & civil. war pension bill and God not smiting him.dead! . Nothing 90 terribly tells the story.of the death of the o0ld world in America as. that plank in any republican platform was the pension plank—first In impor- tance, first in distinguished consid- eration by the platform makers, first {in party discussion before and after |1t was made. The last national plat- form dismissed pensions for civil war veterans with casual' indorsement. Anw now a republican President |vetoes a bill passed almost unani- mously by both houses of Congress. | Grover Cleveland was defeated for | President in 1388 because he slowed down the; pension mill. And when he Went fishing on Memorial day it was a national scandal. The old soldier for a generation after the civil war controlled the republican party, and even with the solid south controlled by the Confed- erate veterans, the G. A. R. was always able to throw 2 panic Into the demo- cratic party. In the eighties and nine- ties a G. A. R. national encampment was the most important political gather- ing that met on this continent. Before it Presidents trembled and national leaders stood afraid. The old boys were jealous of their power and liked to make | politiclans dance for them. The profes- sional old soldler was encouraged by the veterans because he was given to shooting his oratory at the toes of sus- pected mugwumps and lukewarm re- publicans. He was an unconsclonable nuisance and generally a crook and al- ‘ways a polite grafter of passes and spe- clal privileges and empty honors. But the country had to put up with him be- cause the veterans indulged him, even though they secretly despised him. And now.a republican President ve- toes a civil war bill. That whirring, ratting noise in the distance is John A. Logan, Russell A. Alger and a vast 'blue-coflted host of dear old boys who ‘struck the shackles from four million | slaves” grave turning restlessly in their Exit Big BilL 1G BILL HAYWOOD, the idol of radical labor, has quit his job in Russia and definitely has entered the lists of those who once were the:im- mortal Has Been Soclety. - He was a most successful agitator. He could stir the casual laborer to action as no other man in America could. The action which Big Bill advocated was direct action and bad, because it appealed to force. The poor devil, In a casual job has no. more show to win using force than he has trying to harness the moon. But be- cause he is a poor fish, because he has neither brains nor temperament to get and hold a steady job, because the cas- ual laborer, the harvest hand, the lum- ber jack, the hard rock miner, the hop- plcker, the truck man is at the bottom of the industrial scale, he has no more sense than to rally to a leader who ad- vocates the use. of force. And Big Bill Haywood was the ideal leader of the blind. . To suppose that a successful agitator will make a successful superintendent or manager is madness ftself. It was like the bolsheviki. Agitation requires an emotional reservoir. Management re- quires quick skill and a steady nerve. Agitation requires daring; managerial talent needs cautious courage. - Of course, Big Bill had to fall. But at that, bad as his cause was, bad as his leadership of his cause was, here at home, bad as his counsel was; and wicked as his plans too often weré, Big Bill has done. the world a fairly good turn by living. He has called at- tention to the oppression of the casual laborer. He has made the casual lab- orer know himself. Big Bill has brought the truth about the condition of casual labor out of the muck and grime into the light. He bungled the job of solv- ing the problem, but with blind rage, in hate and in jealousy and in a malice bred by real oppression, Big Bill and the -casual laborer have laid upon the table of American civilization.a real problem—the problem of the industrial down and out. . It must be solved. Big Bill and his Kkind never can selve it. But they have primmisitc bttt St b - {Continued on Third Page.) ISLANDS U. S. MIGHT GET IN SETTLEMENT OE DEBTS Something About West Indian Posses- sions of Nations Which Owe America BY BEN McKELWAY. HETHER Uncle Sam or John Bull owns the islands of Dominica, Tobago, Ne- vis and Anguilla isn't a question to bring the average Ameri- can citizen down with an acute at- tack of insomnia. Neither is he like- 1y to develop nervous indigestion over whether the Stars and Stripes or the tricolor waves over Martinique and Guadeloupe. Unless his youthful adoration of pirates who salled the Spanish main has led him to an in- tensive study of their old haunts, he probably would have to bring out a microscope and search the map hard before declaring his ability to bound Tobago, Nevis, Martinique or Guade- loupe. For the West Indies usually mean pirates and buried gold to the average American, and nothing else, unless, since prohibition, bootleg 1i- quor. A Last Western Foothold. But Senator Reed's resolution last week requesting the President to sound out the attitude of France and Great Britain toward ceding their possessions in the West Indies, if adopted, would go a long way toward throwing light on what must become an extremely important question of the future, regardless of whether the senator's suggestion for settling the war debts by this method ever reacnes the stage of serious consideration. Grouped under the very shadow of the United States, these tiny islands form one of the last strongholds of | European dominlon in the west | Whether they will ever coustitute a | serfous menace in war or in the com- merce of peace is largely a matter of personal opinion. Senator Reed sees in them this menace. The resolution, which is yet to be disposed of by the Senate, requests the President. to “ascertain whether the government of the United King- dom of Great Britain ® * * is will- ing to discuss the cession by it to the United States of all or any part of its possessions in the West Indies, in- cluding the islands of Trinidad, and jalso the Bermuda Islands. “The President is further requested to ascertain whether the govermment Billions. possessions around the Caribbean. Trinidad has an area approximating that of the state of Delaware—about 1,862 square miles—and is chicfly noted for its production of asphaltum. More than half of this product used in tie United States comes from Trinidad. Tobago, about twenty-five miles north, has an area of 114 squase miles. The chief products are cacao, Sugar and cocoanuts. Petroleum has been found on Trinidad and this in- dustry is rapidly developing. The French possesslons, described before, are noted principally for their sugar. One of Senator Reed’s contentions that the United States should acquire the French and British possessions in the West Indies was that trade be- tween these islands and the United States was rapidly increasing, and their development should properly” take place under the United States, Statistics at the Department of Com- merce show that in 1921 the United States exported $28,831,782 worth of products to the British West Indles, and fmported goods valued at $15,106,- 782. The value of our exports to the French possessions totaled $2,884,- 991, while imports from the same source were valued at $99,230. Products of West Indies. The products of the West Indies are familiar. The principal commodi- ties raised for export are eugar. cocoa, cocoanuts, copra, coffee, Sea Is- land cotton, bananas, some petroleum, and, from Trinidad, rice. The United States exports are confined principal- Iy to farm machinery, automobil and trucks, horses, raliroad constru tion and rolling material, coal ani cotton cloth. One of the interestix phases of trade with the West In ls that the bananas shipped to the United States are raised and the cro; controlled by American interests. Senator Reed's speech on Wednes- day—which he expects to continus very soon—dealt largely with the strategic value of the West Indian is- lands. He pointed.out that the great trade routes which come together at the Panama canal pass within such close proximity to British possessjons that- they might come under British control. He went so far as tp dtate these possessions—twith these of the of the republic of France i= willing to | French-—could be employed to clos discuss the cession by it to the United States of all or any part of its pos- th unama canal and the Mississippi river, as well as dominate all trad. sessions in the Lesser Antilles, includ- Ing the islands of Grand Terre, Guade- loupe, Marie Galanta and Marti- nique.” Extent of British Poasessions. Great Britain's possessions in the West Indles and in the Bermudas constitute, roughly, 12,237 square miles of territory inhabited by about 1,692,302 souls. France has about 10,000 square miles and controls a population of something over 12,000. Great Britain's island- possessions begin at Bermuda, which lies about 500 miles off the coast of Charles- ton, S. C. These islands are famed principally for their onions and w ter golf. Senator Reed's s Wednesday in the Senate described them as being fortified, and he listed the Bermudas as one of Great Brit- ain's fortified positions which lie too close for comfort to the Atlantic coast of the United States. In all his statements concerning the position of vantage he belleves Great Britain holds in the West Indies, Mr. Reed assured the Senate that no offense was intended to Great Britain or to France, which he characterized as “great and friendly nations.” Volstead Law Prosperity. Oft the coast of Florida, wifhin easy fiying distance, lie the Bahamas, this sroup extending southeast to a point directly north and about fifty miles oft the coast of Haiti. Before prohi- bition the Bahama Islands were, per- haps, of less importance than any of the other British possessions in the West Indies. Since prohibition the chief port of the Bahamas, Nassau, has become the most prosperous spot in the Indles. Liquor in large and generous amount is imported from Europe and mysterfously disappears. Nassau has paid off its public debt and is now considering extensive har- bor and port {mprovements. The tiny islands which dot this part of the sea are rapidly becoming pleas- ure resorts, the majority of them boasting their own racetracks and tourist hotels. Jamalca, lying south of the south- eastern part of Cuba, is nearer the Panama canal than any American possession. It is largest in area and in population of all the British West Indlan possessions. Senator ‘' Reed made the statement in his speech, but corrected it upon the suggestion of Chairman Wadsworth of the military aftairs committee, that Jamaica was | highly fortified. He contended, how- ever, that Jamaica could be fortified within a week. Perhaps, with no in- terference, Jamaica could be fortified within a short time, but it has been routes to South America from thg United States. Cut by U. S. Posseastons, is interesting to note, how- ever, that while the West In- dies, extending, as they do, in a southeasterly curve from the Baham- as and Cuba to the island of Trinidad. form a natural barrier, through which pass the trade routes to the Panama canal, the insular possessions of the United States go far toward separat- ing the two extremes of this barrie The route that passes between Cu and Hait more easily contro from. Guantanamo than from Jamaica East of Cuba lie Haitl and Santo Dx mingo. two independent republics present under American control. ] of Santo Domingo lies Porto Rica, and still farther east the three Virgin Is- lands, bought from Denmark. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix, Three of the most important trade routds passing through the West Indles g6 between Cuba and Haiti, between Santg Domingo and Porto Rica and through the Virgin Islands, . Great Britain maintaing two in- portant coaling stations at Barbados and Kingston and a coal and oil stac tion at Trinidad. The United Statas maintains a coaling station at Porté and a coal and oil station ‘&t Thomas. Gove ent operated radio stations are maintained on afl the United States possessions, in Haiti, Santo Domingo and Cuba. Three Small Dutch Islands. With the exception of Great Britain and France, the European possessions in the Caribbean are confined to three tiny islands off the coast of Venezue- la, owned by Holland. Great Britain, however, retains two important pos- sessions in Central and South Ameri- ca, British Honduras and British Gulana. In addition to the Bahamas, the is- lands of Jamaica, Trinidad, Tobagg and Bermuda, the British control thé islands of Dominica, St. Lucia, Turks and Calcos, Barbados, St. Vincent, Grenada, Antiqua, Cayman, St. Kitts, Barbuda, Nevis, British Virgin, A quilla, Montserrat, Grenadines and Carriacou, all coming under’ the gand eral West Indian group. 3 It st Seek National Support | For Waterways B | | National Rivers and Harbd Congress Asks People to ’l pointed out that a United States na- val base—Guantanamo, on the south- ern coast of Cuba—Is closer to Jamal- ca than Jamalca is to the Panama canal, and that while it might take weeks to fortify Jamaica, it has tak- en years to fortify the Panama canal —time always adding to the thor- oughness of the job. Owned by the French. Other British islands are Trinidad, Tobago and the group known as the “Leeward” and the "Windward Is- lands,” lying north in a straigth line from the eastern tip of Venezuela. The French possessions of Guade- loupe, Grande Terre, Marie Galante and Martinique are also 4n this group. Trinided and Tobago, administered together as & British crown colony, rank as, the. most important British Back Fight for Funds The National Rivers and Harborg Congress is sending out from its headquarters here an appeal to the people of the country to write of wire their opinion of the appropria‘ tions recommended for waterway improvements this year to their representatives in Congress. The budget bureau has recom- mended $27,625,760 for the malinten- {ance and improvement of rivers and harbors in the fiscal year ending June 30. 1924. This Is not enough, the bulletin says, and urges the friends of good waterways to $e- mand_a substantially incressed & propriation. . One ftem In the budget buresif™ recommendation calls for an appré. priation of $74,000 for improving the Potomaa river here.. ...