Evening Star Newspaper, February 18, 1923, Page 41

POWERS SEEK TO SWAY INFLUENCE OF RUSSIA France Leads Other Countries in Efforts to Buy Soviet Complacency With Commercial DY OLIVER OWEN KUHY ANY is the time that the bully of the neighborhood gang of youngsters - becomes less bombastic, less arrogant and Jess pugilistically inclined by the bribe of a nice large red apple. Statesmen of Europe having learned the lesson that one Wwho cannot be driven must be coaxed are preparing to give the bully of eastern Europe wot one apple but several, with the Lope that they may be left in peace to further their own particular ends with guarantees of future safety. It is learned in Waghington within the next month or so France, Iingland, as well as Italy, may make far-reaching concessions to sway Russia from her position as a poten- tial menace to European political maneuverings by trade concessions. ‘These will be but the first step toward Jater recognition of the soviet regime. Russia has the power to kick over the European playhouse and give several of her piaymates in the In- tornational game of blind man's buff <ome bad half hours. But Russia to advance must have financial and eco- nomle recoguition with favorable trade agreements with the other pow ers. Furthermore, the soviet regime, it is declared, seeing the handwriting | the wall in g0 far as permanent tonure of its position is concerned with present internal chaotic condi- tions, is ready to forego much of its rant against so-called capitalism and °nd a knee that it may partake of orelgn gold in the upbuilding of its cconomic and soctal life, Russin Desires Gain. Russian armies are ready to strike where Russia's interests can be fur- thered, but it is a pretty well estab- lished fact that Russia will not strike urless something is to be galned. ven Trotsky, latest coufidential ad- vices indicate. is ready to forego rat- tling of the saber if Russia can be assured that the larger powers of rope most able to assist Russia will enter Into economic and com- nercial arrangements, With the near eastern mess con- tnuing to be a mess, with the French t ghtening the screws on the Ruhr, with chaos predicted as the result, with the whole European situation re- maining in a state of flux by the counter currents of international pol- Itles, with the various larger powers cager to seize any advantage to fur- ther nationalistic alms in case a_di ~ided entente should fall, the Rus- question has caused grave in the minds of the “elder statesmen.” It is admitted that Russian parti Dation either on the side of the Turks or with the Germans—in case Germany should turn bolshevik— would swing the balance of power agalns( any one or group of western Tluropean countries. If the balance did not swing completely to the side of victory for those with whom the Russians aligned themselves, the ad- Justments following prolonged con- t would not be wholly to the po- litical interests of the western powers who are striving today to galn ad- vantage in the control of Kurope's destinies. Tt is not surprising that the west- ern powers not wishing the Russian menace to continue should Indirectly pproach Moscow seeking favorable arrangements—favorable to the Rus- sians fromy the financial and economic standpoints, favorable to the western powers from the standpoint of per- petuating national prestTge. Rauss-British Negotiations. The Russians and English long Lave been fiirting, but as a matter of fact past negotiations will come to naught unless some rapid strides are talcen to abate anti-English sentiment in the counclls at Moscow. 2nd past negotiations were spurred on rough Russia's peculiar domestic dilemna and with the hope that the British, the best able financially, would assist the Russian government and peoples. Negotlations between London and Moscow have been a constant source of irritation to Paris, which has fore- seen a German-English-Russian alli- 2nce in case of the breaking up of the cntente. But the French have not bheen idle and today. with the com- lete mastery of Europe a8 her stake, l.as set in motlon negotlations looking toward complete settlement of all out- anding questions between Russia and France. The French, it is declared, for Rus- #ian guarantee of czarist debts, are ady to assist the Russlans from a tinancial standpoint and further Russo-Turkish {nterests in the near cast after there has been some settle- ment of prevailing near eastern fs- sues. In fact. it is suspected in Lon. don ' that Poincare recently pointed out the advantage of a Russo-Turkish working agreement with France. It is known that Poincare feels, at least avows, the British betrayed French interests in the near east by their adamant stand at Lausanne. It s be- lleved in England that he would not hesitate to embrace Russia _In any sgreements with the Turks. Poincare undoubtedly. because of the force of public sentiment, cannot make such alllance as long as the entente £ts, but at the moment there Are ave doubts that it can live through he Ruhr crisi The British, it is be- Tieved, will break with the French be- cause of divergent pollcles in regard 1o Germany, in which emergency rance may be expected to go far in spreading her influence in eastern Eu- pe by attempting to line up the that ; The Brit- | Ish are cordlally hated by the soviet! Agreements. ! Russlans through trade and financial agreements. Tehitcherin Comforts France. Foreign Minister Tchitcherin, in Berlin during the past week, made it Plain that Russia would not fight on the side of the Germans under pres- ent conditions. He made a threat to: support the Turks in case Turkish and Russlan interests are not furthered in the near cast. Thig _declaration should wive heart to the French, who see In it tacit Russian support of their Ruhr policy and condemnation of the British in° regard to near eastern questions. However. the Russian cannot be counted to do what ix ex- pected of him under the soviet regime. But the Tehitcherin statement has causcd renewed activity in the Rus- slan division of Qual d'Orsny in Paris, Should the French be able to effect an agreement with the soviet regime In Russia. undoubtedly it will glve France a freer hand in the Ruhr. At the same time the potential Russian j menace to Poland, France's offensive {and defensive ally, can be minimized through the weizht of the economic pacts. France, with the completion of any Russian agreement, could indirect'y Influence Russia’s foreign external policies. and she would become the political master of all Europe bevond all question, for, with her domination of Germany. her control of the pow- ers of the littla entente and Poland. and direct influence upon Turkey. rmany’s maligned Mittel-FBuropean { scheme of dominating the whale of | central Europe—a schema unfulfilled —would look zs mere child's play. Other Allies Make Tenders. | gland and "Ttaly realize that| Frange cannot be permitted to gain the unper hand in regard to Russian agreements, and it is declared upon relfable authority that tenders have Dbeen indirectly and unofficially made jlooking toward early commercial co- operation between these two coun tries and Ruse'a. Extent of negotia- tions or results’ ach'eved have not been made known. But it becomes mr]\re apparent that Russia vet ma win her former bitter enemies she frains from actual participation in any venture against allled countries. Undoubtedly France throush affilia- tion with the Russians could rob the Germane of any hope of eventnal Rus. slan ald in passive tance to i operations, and this France's Ruhr Dossibly Is the chief spur to renewed Freneh endeavors. Tn the meantime Belgians are pressing home their tern measures to force capitulation of Germany in regard to the Ruhr in- dustrial recfons. The whole territory hat been sliced from the German 1 dustritl body. and though the process mally failed, in so far as are concerned, he French there is everv reason not be mitigated some time to come. in the least for “Germuns Maneuvering. On the other hand, advices indlcate that the German peoples, though rep- resenting a solid wall in so far as real hatred of the French is concerned, nevertheless, are inclined to take ad- vantage of the present situation to further their own internal political ends. Already the soclal democrats and the parties representing the in dustrialists are maneuvering for advantageous position with the hope that they may gain eventual credit for ending the present impasse in the Ruhr. The soclalists are demanding that Ithe German government treat with { the French if evacuation of the Ruhr can be gained. The industrialists who {nsist upon a united front against France are swaving the government in its efforts toward further resist- ance of French edicts. However, it is learned, that secretly tenders have been made to the French industrial group who. with the militariats, dic- tate French policies, looking toward some arrangement whereby Germany and France can emerge from the present situation without actual war- fare. So far, it has besn declared. little has been accompilshed, but that the { French and the Germans, more par- ticularly the latter, are considering possiblilty of negotlating the Ruhr question lends credence to the gen- eral diplomatic viewpoint that if actual conflict can be avolded both sides will be ready for negotlation within the immediate future. Germany would act because of a tual domestic suffering and industria realizes that her present polley is costing billions of franes more than ‘she can hope to recover without ac- tual annexation of the Rhineland and Ruhr and consequent allied exploita- tion. Geature Toward Belgium. A gesture toward final settlement is seen in the German payment of | 46,000,000 gold marks in treasury bills credited to the Belgian reparations account. This German action un- doubtedly is designed to cause a weakening of Belglan support of the French cause and unquestionably will have this effect in case these de- ferred reparations payments are con tinued. The Berlin government has given the world to understand that it regards the treaty of Versailles as having been abrogated by French ac- tions in the Ruhr. Nevertheless, it proceeds to meet obligations oo tracted for in favor of Belgian pri- ority claims. While paying Belgium, Germany refuses to pay France and throws obstacles of every conceivable character before France's endeavor to enforce reparations. It will be ex- tremely interesting to watch Belgian reaction to the German gesture. But the resumption of reparations payments to Belgium can do nothing but enrage France and spur her to further and far-reaching moves in the Rhineland. Excessive Profits May Menace Returning National Prosperity BY HARDEN COLFA Business conditions have entered upon the most critical stage of the readjustment period, in the opinion of Commerce Department and other government officials here who watching with some uneasiness 10 rapld expansion of Industry and the increasingly fast upward swing of prices. “I would suggest to business men that they keep cool,” make sure of 1heir facts, refrain from snap judg- ment, and hold their profits to rea- sonable figures,” Julius AL Kleln, director of the bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, told the writer yesterday. “There is danger ahead if \'e g0 too fast. It Is entirely possi- Lle for business to run into a period of inflation which would be dis- ustrous, “I do not believe we have reached tho point yet where inflation is a crious danger, but we are headed in 1hat direction. We should sit steady snd not rock the boat.” In making .this statement, Dr. Llein bad before him a summary of are o general conditions which showed the following outstanding features: (First, the of serious proportions wit! next sixty days. HiRge Higher Commodity Prices. Second, a survey of general price conditions showing a gradual rige, dating back to last October and in some cases still further, in the prices of almost everything in- widespread use. The list included lumber and other buflding materials, petroleum, which recently ‘went to the highest figure since 1920; cotton, now almost double the price of last year and still rising; iron and steel, copper, which has gone back to about the 15-cent level, and many manufactured prod- ucts. Tt also included farm products, but In that case the rise Is generally re- garded as beneficial in restoring to {the farmer some measure of his pre- | war rurchls\ni Power. Third, a general expansion, particu- larly noticeable within the past three or four months, in the \olume of mas terials produced and : the number of orders taken. Lumber producers, for instance, report orders for 00,000,000 board feet more than tbey had {hls time a vear ago, und iron and steel BY HENRY W. BUNN. HE following Is & bricf summary of the most important news of the world for the seven days ended Feb- ruary 17: The British Empire.—Parliament was re- opened with the usual pomp and circumstance on the 13th. Bonar Law, addressing the com- mons, stated once more his view that the French' enterprise in the Ruhr is a mistake likely to end disastrously to Britain, to France, to ‘all Europe. Nevertheless he showed himself sympathetic with the French government and the French people. He al- luded to the conviction held by many, Includ- ing Lord Gray, that an appeal should be made to the league of natlons to intervene in the Ruhr controversy, but declared that In his opinion such intervention would be useless. He spoke of the delicate situation in which the British force on the Rhine finds itself, but favored keeping it there. Lord Curzon, addressing the lords on the same subject, expressed a ganguine hope of American intervention. It is evident that it is the present intention of the British govern- ment to maintain Its attitude of “benevolent neutrality” towards the French enterprise in the Ruhr. The French press, while regretting that Bonar Law should use language likely to encourage Germany, recognizes his sin- cerity and kindliness and expreases confidence that he will not interfere with the French procedure and will In course of time come to approve it. When that happy day arrives. eay the French journallsts, if Bonar Law will advise Herr Cuno to give in, that will be a “worthwhile” sort of intervention, other kinds not being wanted. The king's address from the throne upon the occasion of the reopening of parliament, referring to recent improvement in oversea trade, expressed confidence in continued im- provement in both oversea and home trade. “1 look forward,” continued the address, “more particularly to’ the greater development of inter-imperial trade in co-operation with the various governments of my empir President Cosgrave of the Irish Free State declores that he is willing to accept the sur- render of De Valeria and his followers on the condition proposed by the latter, that there Le « plebiscite on the question whether Irc- lund shall b= a republic or a free state. But De Valeria proposes a further condition the world today, but some attention must be glven to other matters, There has been untoward Incidents in the relations between the occupving forces and the Germans, That these incidents reflect the attitude of the great mass of the population is doubtful. After a clash at Gelsenkirchen between French military and German securi- ty police, which resulted in the killing of one policeman and the wounding of two French officers, Gen. Degoutte wisely decided to de- prive the security pollce of thelr firearms. But the affair in a beer hall at Essen on the 16th, In which ‘a security policeman fired on French and Belglan soldiers who were helping themselves to beer since the proprietor re- fused to cerve them, seems to indlcate that the general's wise decislon has not been put in execution. It should be remarked here that the French and Belglan military in helping themselves to food and drink and what not refused them under the rigid boycott, havo always deposited the purchase price or what they estimated to be the valuo of things taken, information belng refused as to purchase price. Of all the towns Gelsenkirchen and Essen have been the most uncompromising in thelr passive resistance to the French occupation. Indeed, “passive” Is hardly the word for Es. sen, where, in addition 1o a complete boycott of the French and numerous acts of sabotage, a crowd smashed the windows of a restaurant where allled officers were eating and on more than one occasion the French were compelled to disperse threatening mobs at the bayonet's point. It is averred that Chancellor Cuno's visit to the Rulir gave marked encouragement to the secret “resistance organizations,” that the extremists therein have got the upper hand, and are urging active instead of pas- sive resistance, that large part of such trou- ble as has arisen was due to these agitators. It ia averred on the other hand, that these gentry are regarded by the mass of the popu- Jation, and more especlally by the miners, as Zools of the nationalists, whom they hate as heartily as they do.the French. One hears much of the danger that these uxitators may (smuggling {n arms) bring about armed re. sistance and guerilla warfare on the Irish model. Such reports may be discounted when it is considered that the mass of people dis- trust all agitation as having a nationalist ori- Ein and as “calculated” to further nationalist alms. A ‘eingular, indeed. weird development has lfc'n the recovery of the mark. Only a few days ago it took 40,000 marks to purchase a dollar; now the mark is quoted at 20,000, Clever manipulation, no doubt, Prussian black magic. Doubtless the main ohject in foreing ip the mark (by sale of. foreign securities: Ly ;vhale\"er m‘!nlml} was to facilitate importa- ions of coa nd raw materials jusi vi- cusly the fall of the mark bt The Story the Week Has Told vent a famine at whatever cost to their gen- eral program. As the week ends the gloom thickens, the struggle omes more blin@. * k%% Turkey.—The report cited by me last week to the effect that the Turkish commandant at Smyrna had notified the foreign naval com- manders In Smyrna harbor, that pursuant to orders from Angora, “the status quo would be malntained until the issue was settled by diplomatic means,” seems to have been with- out foundatlon, But the forelgn commanders were notified of the postponement until sunset of the 13th of the going into effect of that absurd order, which' forbade the presence in Smyrna harbor of any forelgn warships of tonnage greater than 1,000 and which, more- over, forbade the presence In the harbor of more~than one such insignificant craft of any forelgn nation at a time. As to what may have happened in Smyrna harbor since sunset of the 13th we have no informatio but it is a good guess that nothing ugly has Lappened. The Turks biuffed, the bluff failed; there's nothing for them to’ do, unless they are quite mad, but digest their chagrin at lelsure. To be sure, the Turks may be quite mad, and if they have heavy artillery ashore they might play the deuce with the forelgn warships. But this s a drab narrative of as- certained events and not a speculation. Ismet Pasha arrived in Constantinople on the 16th en route to Angora from Lausanne. It is to be hoped that that astute and humorous gentloman will be able to assuage the appre- henslons and prune the overweening of the Angora assembly and induce it to accept the allled terms without substantial modification. #* * ok Misccllaneous—The Italian chamber of depu- ties and senate have approved the Washington conference treaties. Premier Mussolinf closed the discussion in the chamber with the fol- lowing remark: “The fact that the fascista government is asking the chamber to ratify these treaties gives you a clue as to the forelgn policy it means to pursue.” The first fruits of the manifesto issded not long ago by the council of third internationale of Moscow, urging the workers of the world to overthrow fascista movements wherever they might exist, was a widespread anti- fascisti plot In Italy well financed and care- v{ as between far-reaching concessiona from | of collecting reparations due has dis- | to believe that the French effort will| paralysis and the French because she | render head: | sults of a plebiscite on a Mr. Hughes Australia. Sir George has resigned as Younger, who No doubp he hopes Lloyd George asked: Which gentleman Is the men?* # ok ok * week was the extension by the all export from Germany. occupied into ployment, distress. greater proprietors. less the Germans knuckle under. I must postpone discussion of {producers are reportel as vnwilling {to take further orders for delivery isooner than the fourth quarter of the year. i~ Fourth, an increasing shortage of {labor coupled with rapidly rising .wage scales. Vstance, officials believe, there may lie i the inception of the wind which may develop into the whirlwind. The pres- {ent period of Increased actlvity has |all the makings, it 15 poluted out, of | another vicious 'spiral of prices such creased wages, increased production costs and increased prices rotating around one another to dizzy heighte. ars Runaway Market. | “We should take every precaution | againet too rapid a rlse In prices.” | Dr. Klein states. “There is no way the government could police the situ- ation, and it is extremely doubtful it it would be wise for the government to do so, even if it could.” . | “What should be done?" Dr. Klein I asked. ! w“The government can only suggest. It is not up to the government, how- | ever, but to the business interests of i the country, to prevent ‘runaway markets. _Any Tunaway is dangerous to everybody In its path. | “Many business men are thinking along these lines today, and I have i ino doubt will practice self-restraint !in the matter of profits and In other matters to prevent runaway markets. In several lines there are potentiall- ties for a runaway market. The situ- ation must be kept in hand by the business men concerned.” 3 The rallroads have seidom, if ever, { been called upon to haul so large a volume of freight at this season of the year. “The number of cars loaded with frelgit,” says the American i Railway Association, ‘continued to run unusually heavy for this season {of the year, exceeding by considera- ble margin the corresponding week {in_previous years.” { As to the prospective car shortage, | opinion is divided. The raliroad offi- cials themselves place the current net shortage at less than 47,000 cars. | Government officials are less opti- mistic. They fear that most unusual of all car shortages, a big shortage in i the spring. It has been years since that season has recorded such a situ- ation. The building boom, if it ma- teriaiizes, will be responsible. |English Women Sway Esau Sons (Continued from First Page.) i 1 | { solution of the present crisis, at any rate for the Ottoman empire, will be a friendly understanding with fits oldest ally and defender. There is much to indicate that the efforts of Gertrude Bell at Bagdad and of Lord Curzon's endeavors at Lausanne will not in war with the sublime porte. but in a reversion to the old-time friendly understand- ting between Great Britaln .and Tur- key. * % % % It may interest those who are accus- tomed to spend the summer season on the French seacoast to know that Gertrude Bell's grandfather, the late Sir Joseph Olliffe, founded, in con- junction with his intimate friend, the first Duc de Morny, the now so popu- |lar seastde resort of Deauville. Sir Joseph was the Irish physiclan of Na- poleon III, who played so notable & jpart in Paris throughout the reign of that monarch, at whose personal In- stance he was knighted by Queen Victoria, Sir Hugh and Lady Bell, the parents of the so-called woman of mystery of Mesopotamia and Of its uncrowned queen, spent several months in America, particularly with their relatives, thé Spring-Rices, at the British embassy at Washington, in 1915, Sir Hugh figuring at several conventions of the great ironmasters of the United States. expressed by him as follows, which seems to usciess further discussion on “Let England declare the threat of war re- moved and pledge herself to abide by the re- traight-out vote the republic and the free state, and recognize whichever secures the majority i as the established state I waves the saber a little more. vot re- | jelanea as ¢ caused Lloyd George's downfall, has been made a viscount. turned to power, that by dethroning him again he may arrive to be an earl. But it may well be pletely extinct, Lloyd George or Tutankha- Germany.—The great development Belgians of their embargo 80 as to include Important eflects should soon observable—shutting down of plants, unem- Payment of the unemployed cannot be con- tinued indefinitely, even by the state or the When unemployment be- comes general and pay ceases, then the “devil's orchestra” will discourse infernal mus} velopments in the railway, telephone and tele- graph services, and at the mines. situation is, to be sure, the most important in In the last-named in- | as occurred in 1918 and 1819, with In- | at least regarded with the debasement of the » tation. But 1 conf. this 5 It's a pity tried on that ch the stake. follow and the worl for the millenfum. T spoke last week of ties opened up bLy the #nd Lorraines coz Trance of 40 per cen by the frantic munist leaders raine) to bring on a g throughout the Fre: The efforts suc arge a d w premier of “ill be re- will be re. i = more com- neh scattered over France of the French and pears of an end to the unoccupied Hiners. be and still muitiplying. since the above was wr lowing: An extraordi hotage, functionaries with expulsions and that the secret other —un- made. The food situati recent de- ing, owing in large pa The Ruhr TO PREVENT - ILVER, thut precious metal, basis | of cotns the world over for centu- ries, Is fighting a battle for exist- ence. The American market oversupplied. Europe Is elther casting | it aslde or, what is worse, debasing it, | and four London brokers are absolutely fixing its world value based on the de- mand in China and India. American mining industries, its| greatest producers, declare that the | law of supply has been ignored in the price fixing and, alarmed at the ap- proaching termination of the Titt- man act, providing for purchase of | | the metal by the government to main- tain the Treasury's balance, hava ap- | pealed to Congress for legislation to save the industry. Even the American silver dollar, which has retained its purity, desvhe | the upheaval In Europe, i3 still in| danger, it is declared in this appeal, which points out the demoralizing ef- | fect which resulted several vears| ago when the price of bullion ex- | ceeded the value as a coin. | Revival of the old bimetallism con- troversy, once even a presidential is- sue, {9 not beyond the bounds of the present situation, according to some members of Congress. Debasing Silver Coinage! _ Already Sweden, Norway and Den- mark have abolished silver coin for all fractions of the krome, substitut- ing an alloy of nickel and copper. Added to this is the alarming extent | to which the debasement of silver has | already reached. In Enxlund silver| Fcoinage has been debased from 925 to | 500 fine; the Netherlands and utch | Indies have debased their silver coin from 945 to 720 fine: Canada from 900 to 800 fine; Honduras from 900 to 500; San Salvador from 900 to 300: Singa- pore or Straits dollar from 900 to 600, first, then to 550: Mexico and Peru have both debased their currency to 500 fine. The chaos in Burope has swept sil- ver out of circulatlon in Austria, Bel- i gium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Fin- land, France, Germany, Greece, Hun- gary, 1taly, Jugoslavia, Poland, Por- tugal, Rumania, Russia and Turkey. There Is no shortage in the supply of silver. The nations of the world have just forsaken, precious metals as a medlum of exchange for the more stable medlum—bartering_of goods, manufactured and raw. Bu- rope With its topsy-turvy exchanses has followed suit with Germany— buying from the United States and accepting credits in American money rather than suffer the great losses in currency of thelr own realms during its” transmission. The situation was brought before the American Mining Congress several weeks ago and a comm'tire named to Investigate is expected to urme upon Congress the passago of a joint resolution providing for thz appoint- ment of a commission, consisting of two senators and two representatives, to confer with two representazives of the industry and submit recommenda- tions. ‘Werld Supply Unknown. There s not an unlimited supply of silver in the world ready for mining, the producers have pointed out to the Senate, who add “that the currenmt production of silver is not the meas- ure of the supply and that fiscal leg- islation largely controls the demand.” The avallable world silver supply has never been estimated, but expe rience has shown that when it reaches a suffclently high price—u value in bullion in excess of its valuc as coin —enormous quantities flow from hith- erto unknown sources. During the high prices of 1921 tens of millions of ounces of foreign coin were shipped to the refinerfes' of the 11 call it black magle Stinnes and Company are not Stabilization of the mark would miners (together de t of her coul supply) an (already Y cceeded to this extent: the 16th between 40,000 and 50,090 able, though by no means « men and the Lorrainers who strue will s0on return to work, but no Surely the troubles of Poincare increasing recalcitrance resultant organizations Pave planned a campaign of individual assas- sinations on the Irish model, attempts of that character, having, it would s havior of the German food speculators. The French are fetching considerable food supplies from France and will no doubt pre- SILVER IN A WORLD BATTLE was promoted, or complacency, because rk facilitated expor- it is all a mystery to and let it go at cow gang. nd hung or burned at account of ould again be oriented fully organized in conjunction with the Mos- The police discovered It in good time znd most of the Itallan ringleaders are now in gooc I must pe )stpone to another occasion the an interesting fresh development in the perennial border controversy between I'oland and Lithuania. After an unconceivable delay in reaching a tho dreadful possib Qoctaton strikes of the Sarre priving d being made by com- suceessful in Lor- neral strike on the 16th conl mining industry. That on miners It is prob- sertain, that those k last week prospect zp- Sarre strike of 75.000 went out and the Cross. fng and b the awarded Memel land (i.c., the city and port of Memel, with its little hinterland) to Lithuanta. The Berlin reich more be draped in black. self-determination, heavenly made, A high official of the American Red Cross, just returned from Athens, states that of the 00,000 refugees pendent on charity and 50,000 are being fed by the Greek government remainder by None is suffering from hunger. council of ambassadors has & chamber should once Another victory for in Greece 500,000 are de- that of the latter the American Red Cloth- quantity are lankets in sufiicient being furnished by the American Red Cross. The Foundation Company of New York has just signed are legion e Tour miles A dispatch received itten indicates the fol- nary increace of sa- of German arrests, trials, punishments; evidenco noticed above ©f 70 to 13 em, already been on is becoming alarm- Tt to the ghoulish be- i L board. DEBASEMENT United States for’ smelting and refin- ing. Then had it not been for the fact that the paper note issue of India was convertible immediately into silver rupees the crisis confronted by England in 1917 and 1918 would not have occurred. There would not have arisen the necessity to furnish the enormous amount of bullion in the Unfted States to meet that emergency nor to have enacted the Pittman act as an enabling measure. Release from the Treasury vaults of 209.000.000 ounces of silver, meltgd under the Pittman act, as well as the dumping by Buro- pean, Central and South Amerlcan governments during the perlod of | high prices, has not depleted the sil- ver stock of the world. to free stock. Destroying Value of Silver. Here is what has happened to de- stroy the value of silver: = 1 Disintegration of the Latin union wag responsible for conditions that led to the enactment of the Bland act and the Sherman law, under swhich more than 400,000,000 ounces of silver were compulsorily purchased by the United States government. The ef- fect was to support the price in America. The Sherman law was repealed in 1891. America, largest producer of “As I See It” (Continued from First Page.) It has added Later political interest will revive. Later, indeed, the drums and slogans and shibboleths of the temple phari- sees who run politics will incant their old spell—maybe. But now—no. Only in Washington in the Sandhedrin are the chief priests and Levites upon this glorfous island of Iridescent dreams excited about the signs, tokens and portents in the political sky—omens that are largely in their own eye. For Instance, Ford for President. Washington thinks serfously of Ford. ‘Washington feels that he may be the democratic nominee; that his pacifism and know-nothingism, his standardiz- ed ignorance of human affairs may appeal to something in this country, particularly in the cracker part of the south. So the republicans are laying out their problem with Ford in the equation. This surprises one who comes into Washington fresh from the grass roots. The grass roots are not moved by Ford. Nor by any ne else just now. They are coid In ‘the winter of their discontent,” cold toward Ford, toward McAdoo; bitter cold toward the republican party, and politics generally do not warm up the average citizen in the country. B But the average citizen of Wash- ington is super-average. He is in Washington because in the matter of political acumen or political luck he is able to make a living out of his fellows. And he takes his talent seriously. He is always tinkering at his trade. Curlously just now certain regular republicans are in a mood to abandon Harding. They seem to feel that he should not run again. They do not.think he s unpop: , but they hold that he is just impossible. Hard- ing can, of course, renominate him- self, in spite of them. Any President can. But Harding is not a fighter. Nor has he about him the fighters of the great financial interests as Taft had. Wall street would let Harding go down the stream without 2 life line. In the first place, and chiefly because he is not opposed just now, as was Taft. by an element in the party which Wall street regards as dangerous. 1Indeed Harding Is plans contemplate a total Tokio subway. the days (noto long ago) of the The United States Senate has passed the bill_ amending tke debt funding act by a vote T'nited States | a contract for the construction of of subway in Tokio, Japan. Present of ‘thirty miles of world has moved sin hogunate. The The other day 4,100 cases of wine, containing 45 per cent of alcohol, and valugd at $287,000, having been confiscated by prohibition agents, were put on a scow, towed thirty miles from New York into the Atlantic, and dumped over- ‘To adapt Omar Khayyam a little, one often wonders what the agents buy one-half so precious &s the stuff they dump. silver, lost all influence in fixing the price ‘of silver until war conditions disrupted the London market. The enormous increase in export trade of China and India during the last twenty-five years, coupled with the fact that tradition made the use of silver necessary as a medium of exchange in these countries, resulted in the far east becoming the world's most important market for the meyal. Cessation of legislative purchases by the United States was followed by an Increased flow of silver to India until the market there was glutted, with the inevitable result that the ex- change value of the rupee declined 50 per cent. The government closed the Indian mints to free coinage and established | the sterJing value of the rupee. From | that time on London has been able | to fix the price of siiver throughout | the world. | "A monsoon in India, a flood or ! famine im-China have greater effect on the price as fixed by London than { the abandonment or discovery of a new mine In the United States. Market Ruled by Broker: Four silver brokerage houses in | London fix the market. Representa- tives of these firms meet every busi- ‘ess day. They hold the orders to | sell bullion and also the orders to { buy silver to meet the exchange bal- | ances drawn upon London accounts. | The price is adjusted to meet the sit- ! vation, advancing when the exchange demand exceeds the suppl declin- ing when the reverse is the case. The price is thus fixed and the result ca- bled all over the world. A Butte miner | sells a load of ore for a Londén price i received by cable. | dotng things now which Roosevelt in his maddest moments did not threaten. These farmer credit and marketing bills, for instance, go far into populism and Harding and all his ad- 1ainistration are backing these bills. So while Wall street does not protest —perhaps truseting to the Supreme Court for annulment of the measures, still Wall street would not put up a fight for Harding. And as Harding is not at all militant, it is evident to the super-statesmen, who play Provi- is absent from the town, that Hard- ing may be removed from the picture if they need him removed. Which is where they get fooled. . EE A% Just now these elder stand-pat statesmen feel that Harding must go. They probably will change thelir minds. But now the fates are playing with the names of Hoover, Borah and Johnson. These three may be con- sidered at the next republican con- vention. Unless it is Harding, no conservative need apply. It is most curious that all three were Roosevelt men in the big split in the party a dozen years ago. The reactionary statesmen of that day have stalked off the stage to death or oblivion. And the chess players of the party are using new knights. It was for so little real advantage that the stand-pat Horatlus' kept the bridge; eight years of Wilson's liberalism en- acting the insurgent program and four years of Harding's gentle yleld- ing, complete the surrender that Wilson began. No wonder Wall street refuses to produce a temperature at the prospect of Hoover, Borah or Johnson. The truth of the matter is that Wall street {s pretty well out of politics. A new generation has arisen there as well as in Washington. Ten years un- der the direct primary hds put Wall street out of practice in directing politics at their source. Candidates for senator and governor from the west never come now as once they came to the elder Morgan's office for his blessing. And his son knows little about the detalls of politics and cares less. Business is getting out of the government, not in, as Mr. Harding promised us that it would get in. * %k K So it is Hoover; Borah or Johnson, with Lowden In the offing. Lowden is the candidate whom Washington for- got. And the lssues—foreign affairs. Washington sees a swing back to the dence in Washington while Providence i UNCLE SAM ON LOOKOUT FOR OWN RUBBER SUPPLY Je Bulk of roduction and Price Now U;ldel‘ Almost Absolute Control of the B BY BEN McKELWAY. VERY time an automobile tire expires with a bang and a wheeze, the owner, distress- fully surveying the ruin, be- comes intensely interested in rubber. If the price of & new tire Is normal, his interest i3 momentary. If a new one costs twice what he pald for the old one, he wants to know why. That 1s one reason a forthcoming investi- gation of rubber and its sources of supply, to be made jointly by the De- partments of Commerce and Asri- culture, deserves more than passing comment. The price of automobile tires has not yet doubled. But the prica of rubber is going up and a s'tuation far more Important than what automoblle tires are going to cost has developed. It concerns not merely the price of rubber, but in- volves the question of future supply and whether the United States. using 70 mar cent of the world's pro- duction, s to depend hereafter on a forelgn' nation or whether it can produce indepenflently enough of this important commodity to supply its own fast-growing demand. British Control Supply. The situation, very briefly, is this: Great Britain, whose colonial posses- sions produce the greater part of the world's rubber, has enacted laws to limit production, first, in order to reduce a surplus of crude rubber, secondly, to restore a market price that went to smash with over-pro- duction durlng and immedlately fol- lowing the war. The law has accom- plished both, and now the American manufacturer who uses is paying nearly doubly what he pald a few months ago and is facing a shortage whichi may send the price sky high. That is what led to budget to place its ap- | bureau last week proval on an appropriation for an Investigation out of which may come a new era in the rubber world. ‘The story behind this crisis In rub- ber is as short as it Is sweet, and worth the telling. Before the automobile came Into ex- listence the world got alongz very com- { fortably on about 50,000 tons of rub- {ber a year. Virtually all of this came from Brazil and Peru, where the rub- ber tree grows wild. It was a dificult proposition to get this rubber, but the sm@all scale on which it was p iduced enabled the growers to meet | the situation. The practice was for a rubber explorer to blaze his way through the jungles of the Amazon and locate about 100 rubber trees. These were enough to furnish a sup- ply to compensate him for the trou- Lle. The big job was to get the rub- ber to the outside world and to do [ gles from the rubber trees to the nearest point where civilization sup- piled better methods of transporta- tion. Took Seeds Out of Brazil. In 1 an English scientist, IL A Wickham, roaming around South America, secured, under protest from i ber tree seeds and sailed for Eng {land. There they were grown under glass to seedlings, and these seed- lings, and these seedlings were sent out to6 Ceylon, where they were plant- ed, more for an experiment than any- thing else. The seedlings flourished Fast Indies. The British government watched the cxperiment closely and from Mr. Wickham’s seeds, taken out of Brazil, sprang the rubber planta- tions which today produce more.than 95 per cent of the world's supply. In 1904 the British rubber planta- tions produced four tons of rubber, In 1913 they furnished 44 per cent of the worid's supply. By 1914 they pro- duced 54 per cent, and in 1920 80 per “feanwhile the automobile was be- ing perfected. The demand for rub- ber grew with the production of more automobiles. It has been said that before the automobile the world sup- | piy of rubber was around 50,000 tons annually, In 1922 the supply was about 375,000 tons and the estimated demand for 1923 is approximately { 400,000 tons. { Expanded Under War Demand. ' The automobile justified the expan- isfon in the rubber plantations and they managed to produce enough rub- ber to keep all hands happy. The war's demand led to further expan- sion, new plantings and intensive methods of hurrying along the growth of trees for production. The booming vear following the war kept eating up the rubber as soon as it was | grown—and then came the smash. { Busimess slowed down, demand for rubber in its chief market, the United States, lessened. And with the plan- tations still producing rubber at full {speed ahead the price began to drop. By the end of 1920 the price of rub- ber had gone down to 20 cents a pound and under, when the mere cost of raising a pound of rubber and put- Iting it on a boat for shipment is 18 cents a pound. Stored in the ware- houses of London and Liverpool were 55,000 tons of raw rubber waiting a bu: Things looked bright for the 1 {league of nations—sees or fears as the observer may view it. Just now |France has the stage. France in the {Ruhr s a condition, not a theory. And {to get France out America must get in. To let France stay in and blow {up European civilization in her de- !termination to ruin or dismember Germany will mean that American farmers, having no outside market for their crops, will put politics into their economic despair in the next election. 11f they do it is good-bye lo the re- ublican party. DU nd S0 many observers, fealing that the President’s policy will lead up to the brink of the pit into which Eu- ropean civilization is sinking, are watching the death of the old order here in Washington with pessimistic eyes. It has little life in it. Leader- ship is wanting, or if present as in the case of Hoover or Borah meets Jealousy. Johnson's leadership would mean further isolation and a read- justment of our economic life to meet the death of Europe. Moreover, John- son 18 a man of passion—pardonable and generally righteous. And he is Idkely to blow himself out of the situation by the violence of his con- vietion™ Borah is calm, sensitive, & g00d guesser, a grass Toot prophet, and a_statesman not afraid of his Yesterdays. Hoe also is not afraid of getting into Europe because he once clamored to keep out. But he lives in a state with 80 few votes in the elec- toral college that they would be nes- ligible in any practical calculation of the result, and_unless conditions are |desparate 'Borah is fantastic. (N. B. {Conditions are desperate.) * ko % Now as to Hoover, he has one draw- backhis common sense. His politi- cal I Q. is low. He merely knows Furope and understands America in terms of facts. Moreover, his mind jcorrelates the facts into truth. But {fie knows no party politics. The pat- \ter of the temple priests ‘who are {eepers of the republican ark of the covenant wearles him. Not more than it wearies uny mormal American, but Hoover looks weary when they chat- ter, So they will have none of Rim. 1t Hoover is nominated it will take !a mob from the galleries to force him upon the convention. And republican conventions have never yiclded to mobs. But next year may be different. And then, again, it may not be. And above everything the reader must not forget that all this fairy-storying 15 done in Washington—in the island of dreams, quite apart from reality. It is only what the "prince said to the this rubber | this trails were cut through the jun-| the Brazilian government, some rub- | tand spread to Malaya and the Dutch| a ritish. American manufacturer and very, very: dark for the British producers. The board ef directors of the Rubs* ber Growers' Association, an organi- zation controlling perhaps one-third of the British-owned plantations, sur- veyed the situation. It found that out of 3,500,000 acres of rubber plans tation 71 per cent were British colos nial possessions. 25 per cent in the Dutch Indies and perhaps 5 per cent scattered elsewhere. Dutch Would Not Co-Operate. It asked all concerned to limit pro- duction 25 per cent until the price went up to normal. About 90 per cent of the membership agreed, but the Dutch were unwilling to co-operats and the Chinese were getting along falrly well with dirt-cheap labor, 50° the scheme failed because non-co- operation was fatal. The British planters then approached the Dutch growers formally and requested thein co-operation. The Dutch retused. Planters were going into bankruptey and last October the British govern- ment, despite the refusal of the Dutcix to join it. investigated and a montjy latér enacted laws which limit pro- duction a certain percentage until tha' price reaches a specified point, when the production is allowed to increase, The means n to limit production is a prohikitive export tax Standard production is fixed at the 1920 figure—335.000 tons. Production is limited to 60 per cent of this mount until the prices rises to around 54 cents a pound, when 100 per cent production may be resumed. As re- i sult, the price of rubber in the United | States has risen from about 20 cents a pound four months ago to 35 cents, and is still going up. Users Well Organized. The American manufacturers of rubber are well organized through the Rubber Association of America, which claims to represent about §0 per cent. Its representatives. met at the De- partment of Commerce last month and @ conference was held with repre- sentatives of the Rubber Growers' Association, out of which may come = modification of the British law on rubber production. The American manufacturer has taken a fair view of the matter. He realizes the plizht of the planter and !s wiling to pa. more for rubber, but doesn’t want to die in the attempt. The rubber mar-.: ket is rapidly picking up and will €oon be normal again. But when it does reach normal, the American manufacturer must pay around 5 cents for what he was buying for 43 cents in 1919, when the rubber mar- ket was on the boom. But further than that, if the rubber production is being curtailed now, when the marke: is picking up, the plantations will no! be able to produce enough to megt the big demand now In sight: conse quently, a rubber shortage that \i send the price out of sight. Looking to the Future. That the situation leading tq,, the investigation Jjust authorized. | The big thing that should come out of this investigation is the solution of the problem of supplying the United States’ rubber demand in years to come. This demand hap been estimated as 800,800 tons in 11940, and the trees must be planted | before 1924. Where are they going | to_be planted? The Philippines have been suggest- !ed as meeting the requirements, but ‘lhvr(' are several objections. Pres- ent laws do not allow private com- | panies to take over more than 2,500 |acres for planting. This is mnot { enough to warrant the necessary in-_ vestment of capital. Labor in the™s Fhilippines costs about twice as {much as labor on the British and | Dutch_plantations, and immigration |laws forbid the Importation of this~ | cheap labor, which probably would,, | cease to become cheap when it struck | the Philippines. A large area of the { Phillppines lies in the typhoon beit, ! and even rubber trees do not re- bound when struck by a typhoon. While parts of the Philippines are | suited for growing rubber, the fu- . | ture political status of the {slands tand their distance from the United i States are two factors which offer | further disadvantages. In case of a war the supply might be too eastly Icut off. And rubber is an important commodity in war time. Latin American Possibilities. and South America may offer a solution. But here, also many disadvantages. The political uncertainty in some of these repub- les, which in the past has served as la deterrent to the investment of capital, is not as great a handicap as it once was, it is true. But trans- portation facilities are few and their provision expensive. Labor is too Scarce and teo high to compet | favorably with that in the East \Indies. And conceseions, perhaps. : | cheap at first, have a way of becom- ing very expensive under taxation too readily imposed when the con cessions are repaying the investment. A rubber supply for the United States should come from United States owned possessions. But where, and how, are two big questions to be solved . Central |queen and what the donkey replied to the gate post.” And now what did the don |to the gate post?—really! ” replied the doukey, “If you mean my’ party nominee it looks like McAdoo. Whereupon the gate post, being lo- cated in Washington and, therefore, most dense, shook its head. For Washington gossip rather minimizes: the chances of McAdoo. Phrases in-, fluence Washington—the heir appar- ent, the Prince of Wales, the cup- bearer—names, of course, but not arguments. And, anyway, Washington has the Fordphobia. Ford is th worst Washington can imagine, ang Washington is in a mood to see the . Still, it might be Cox! And there are those who hope fondly that, the Ku Klux prosecution of Catholics will wax strong and successful until collapse and reaction make a hero out of Gov. Al Smith, the Roman Catholic Governor of New York. He | has the elements of a strong candi- | date—force, intelligence, candor, cour- lage and a kindly comsideration for the other man's viewpoint. He could carry the east. The south, In spite of the Ku Klux, would have to vote for Smith on the democratic ticket—but the west? No one knows. MoAdoo, Cox and Smith—and that's all, abso- lutely all. Here the fairy story ends. 1t Is all Washington knows. * k¥ % v In the enchanted island of dreams, where unenlightened self-interest makes every one blind and proud of it, that is all there is to tell about what the prince said to the queen and- what the donkey replied to the gate post. It is a pitiful little story, yet to hear it around the boards of the” powerful and the great one would think it the law and the prophets. But the story does reveal much, It shows, with other things, what our rulers are thinking about. They are apart from us in this world of their awn; exiles set aside to form the' needed checks upon democracy. They are not the mainsprin@ of democracy, these Washingtonians, these superior godlike folk who are so blind and so happy in their blindness. But bes cause they see visions it may be well to set them down. Thus we may know what some of the great forces of oui: life are holding in their hearts. Their hearts are not destiny; but, after all, the instincts of Washington come in some queer way out of the republie. They are only a small part of it—, but still a real part of the aspiration } of the American people.