Evening Star Newspaper, September 30, 1923, Page 39

FRANCE MAY GAIN GOAL | BY RHINELAND STATE| Separatists, Aided and Abetted by : Paris, May Cast Die Dur- ing ° BY OLIVER OWEN KUHN. ILL France's one great am- bition since the armistice closed the world war be realized, beginning with today, namely, a separate Rhineland state dominated indirectly from Paris? It is a goal argued for by Marshal Foch and others of the militarists of France before the “Big Four” and “Council of Ten,” during the Paris Peace conference. It\ would come as fruition of the many direct ‘and indirect operations of French interests within the Rhine- land proper since the war ended. France dreamed of a _separate Rhineland state a hundred years ago. But not until the armistice was sign- ed and Germany thoroughly humbled slia France dare do more than cherish her ambitions. Even today it is offi- cially and semi-officially denied in Paris that the French government de- | Sires to see a separate state, or has furthered one, but, inasmuch as that school of thought which demands that the Rhine be made the semi- official. if not formal, protective oundary to the east has been in power ‘lludt)r one premier or another since Clemenceau, there is little rea- son to believe that efforts to under- mine Prussia’s grip in the Rhineland regions have mot gone on apace. How French Have Alded. Advices directly from the Rhine- land indicate that the expulsion of more than a hundred thousand na- tives has done nothing more than to aid the separatists, headed. by Herr Mathies, in their general campaign against dictation from Berlin. Those remaining fear to oppose. The sep ratists, it is reported reliably, been assisted® in way during the French occupation. They have been permitted to use the railroads | While their foes have been banned.| Separatist meetings and propaganda bhave been permitted dissemination, ‘while all efforts to frustrate the tide in favor of Germany have been hin- dered. Though al the French have not protected the separatis nevertheless there today exists tacit understanding that the movement will not in any wise be hindered. Separatist leaders, with the sym- pathy and support of the French, have gone ahead with their plans and today in Duesseldorf there will as semble tens of thonsands of Rhine- I.'Avnd(\rs sympathetic to the cause, Significantly they will travel from all cities in the Rhineland on Franco- Belgian controlled trains free of charge. According a mass meetings will be held. Berlin hears that an attempt will be made to seize government buildings and functionaires, with subsequent an- nouncement of a separate republic, which shall embrace the rich regions of the Ruhr. Itiis stated that French officialdom will lose no time in an- nouncing recognition. Should this be true.’then Foch's dream, though un- realizable in the face of opposition | of hard-headed, far-seeing statesmen assembled in Paris, will have been accomplished thro French persist- ency in the general effort to bring about complete disintigration of Ger- many's territorial, financial and econ- omic power, all under the pretext of future national safety to France. Movement Recognized. The separatist movement long has been recognized in Germany. In re- cent days the goVernment, fully cog- nizant of the situation, has debated whether it should steal a march on the Frenchwnd declare a separate re- public within the reich, or whether 1t should permit the French plans to crystallize and then lay responsibility for further rape of Germanic terri- tories directly upon the French. How- ever, it would appear that in the face of the Rhineland development it makes little difference what the Ber- lin government does, The separatist cause_is predominant at the moment. The Rhineland, as at present ad- ministered, will remain firm in its Franconphile leanings until there is complete settlement of the relation- ships of France and Germany. 7 Though the separatist movement is of great momentary importance in 80 far as it affects the future life of Germany, the rapidly rising tides of political ‘and social unrest, as mani- fest by the upheaval in Bavaria dur- ing the past week, cannot be lost sight of in general consideration of Germany’s immediate future. Calis Off Passive Resistance. As predicted, Chancellor Strese- mann, after long decliberation with premiers and leaders of the various German states, announced capitula- tion to the French in withdrawal of passive resistance in the Ruhr. Ger- mans admit their loss of the “sec- ond war.” But the Stresemann gov- ernment has not revealed withdrawal of such other measures as the French deem to be obstructing the general march toward peace and order. For instance, Paris points out that Ger- many has not removed those orders such as would prevent the resump- tion of reparations payments in kind and the payment of taxes on Ruhr in- dustrial products. As long as there is any doubt as to the completeness of the withdrawal of passive resist- to anounced programs, | complete disintegration” of the Ger- {mand of Dr. Gessler, military director Day. mitted in Paris, that some weeks must elapse before the financial and economic structure within the Ruhr can’ be restored to its one-time order. The damage resulting from elght months’ disorganization of the indus- trial forces of western Germany can- not be mended in a day. It will re- quire the combined energies of work- er and government to so re-establish aftairs that Germany can_approach conditions satisfactory to France and required as preliminary to resumption of final negotiations. Position of Poincare. Premier Poincare has stated that as soon as the Germans are in posi- tion to announce that they have suc- ceeded in such restoration as to war- rant tangible economic dealings, then he will enter into parley. In other worfis, the Germans must prove their entire sincerity in capitulation. In the meantime the separatist movement is working directly to the interests of France and strengthen- | ing France's permanent grip Rhineland regions. The Germans will soon treat with the French, with all the spolls—potential reward for ne- go:llauun—alreadv under French con- trol. It cannot be said that capitulation particularly has hastened a com- plete settiement of the outstanding problems between France and Ger- many. The mere announcement of capitulation and end to passive resist- |ance brought flarebacks throughout { Germany itself, not only threatening man state, but civil war as well. Only by the show of greatest determina- tion on the part of the Stresemann government has the immediate civil war crisis been avoided. When the Stressemann pronuncia. mento on the Ruhr went out the Ba- varian council of ministers, through Premior von Knilling, announced a dictatorship under Dr. Gustav von Kahr. The Berlin government, there- upon immediately gnnouncing a state of martial law for all Germany, dis- patched Gen. von Lossow to take charge of reichswhr forces in Ba- varia, thereby superseding von Kahr, von Lossow being under direct com- of the reich. Von Lossow and von Kahr now are working together in the face of a more dangerous ele- ment, the Hitler fascisti, who demand separation of Bavaria from the Ger- manic state. Would Preserve Reich. Von Kahr, monarchist though he be, is for the preservation of the reich, but it is known he looks to- ward the seating of the Wittelbach dynasty under a new monarchical re- gime. Von Kahr represents that fac- tion of the monarcHists in favor of Crown Prince Rupprecht, while Hit- ler, dominated by Gen. Ludendorff, represents that faction of nationalism not so much concerned with indi- viduals as the complete eradication of all republican forms of government. The situation in Bavaria has eased for the moment in the face of known knowledge that the communists are organizing speedily to strike when the utter chaos in Germanic economic and industrial conditions will at- tract the most people to their cause. THE SUNDAY STAR, BY HENRY W. BUNN. HE following is a brief summary of the most important news of the world for the seven days ended Sep~ tember 29, Great Britain.—Lord Morley is dead, at the age of eighty-four. He was one of the most considerable figures in British politics from 1883, when he entered parliament, until 1914, when, at the outbreak of the great war, he resigned office as lord président of the council in dis- approval of Britain's entry into the war. His biographer will be hard put to it to furnish a satisfactory explanation for this act, one of the most singular in British history. Nor will it be easy to excuse his behavior on the occa- sion of Gladstone's retiremerit, in giving his decisive volce against Sir William Harcourt and for Lord Roséberry as premlier, As secre- tary of state for India he inaugurated that experiment in representative government for India, the working out of which is so interest- ing and crucial. He was more important as a writer than as a statesman. Of his writings the best are his “Life of Gladstone and his monographs on Voltaire, Rosseau, Diderot and the encyclopedists Burke and Walpole. * ok ok ok Germany.—On September 26 Chancellor Stresemann issued a proclamation announcing the end of “passive resistance” to the Franco- Belgian occupation. The next day he formally notified the allied ambassadqgs of this action, and he published a decree rescinding all pas- sive resistance orders. The tone of the proclamation is not alto- gether reassuring. It contains a violent indict- ment of the occupation as “against right and treaties,” “accompanied by numberless acts of violence,” etc. It seems to intimate (but in language that appears to me of a studied vagueness) that real peace and the resump- tion of negotiations with a view to a definite settlement must depend on the release of the Germans held prisoners by the occupying au- thorities, and the return of the exiles. “It de- pends on the powers which have invaded our territory and on their allies whether (by re- leasing "the prisoners and allowing those ex- pelled to return) to give peace to Germany, or to bring about by restoration of this peace all of the consequences which would ensue with respect to the relations between peoples.” The common characterization of the German surrender as “unconditional” seems incorrect- in view of the above, in which certain critics discover a veiled threat as well as a propa- gandist plea. This manner of speech, however, may be oniy “face saving.” In tae present posture of affairs Dr. Stresemann may con- sider, and perhaps rightly, that “face saving” with the German nation Is more important than conciliation of Poincare. And then the fun began. ‘On the 26th the Bavarian council of ministers appdinted von Kahr (he who organized the einwohnerwehr, now happily defunct, and unquestionably an ardent monarchist) general commlssioner for Bavaria, le, dictator, with full powers, at the same_time denouncing the Versailles treaty. Von Kahr modestly began operations by sus- pending the constitutional guarantees. News of this business reached Stresemann in the early hours of the next morning. He woke up President Ebert and obtalned his signature to a decree proclaiming an “emergency situa- tion” or “state of siege” throughout the reich, and conferring on Minister of Defense Gessler dictatorial powers. Gessler delegated these powers of the chief reichswehr commanders, and thus the reichswehr commander in Ba- varia became boss of the show there, outrank- ing von Kahr. Not that only Gessler and the reichswehr commander-in-chief, Gen. von Seeckt, are two very canny persons. Weeks ago, foreseeing trouble in Bavaria, they put their heads together and devised a plan. They ordered the greater part of the Bavarian reich- swehr contingent to Wuerttemburg for maneu- vers, where they still are, and ordered to Ba- WASHINGTON, D. C, drew.in their horns. The Bayarian minister- presidént called up’ Stresemann on the long distance and gently reproached him, “To think you should have suspected us,” sald he. “We are assionately loyal to the reich. We made von ahr dictator the more effectively to deal with ttempts on the established power, whether state or reich, and whether from right or left. s My dear von Knilling," replied Stresemann, don’t think that the decree was directed par- ticularly against Bavaria, whose loyalty is above suspicion.” So there's an end (perhaps) for the present to the Bavarian danger to the reich. Today (Sunday), right now, if everything goes off according to schedule, the Rhineland separatists wil pull off a well advertised coup, the object of which is the establishment of a Rhineland republic (including the Ruhr)— whether within or without the reich does not clearly appear. Herr Mathies, the separatist big chief says: “We hope there will be no bloodshed, but, if necessary we have shock troops and we shall be ruthless.” We shall see. Meanwhile the communists have not been idle. They have declared a general strike in the Ruhr. We have vet to learn the numerousness of the response. But no doubt there is great demoralization among the Ruhr workmen. For months they have been drawing doles. fiddling and othrwise amusing themselves. They have lost stomach for work. The order for cessa- tion of passive resistance means an end to this utoplan existence, and they resent it. All over the reich the communists are ready, with their “shock tfoops” and their lists of people’s commissars (that there be no delay). Brer Poincare, he lie low. “We must give them a little time,” says he, “to liquidate the muddle resulting from passive resistance. We are not convinced (note the tone of Strese- mann’s proclamation) of a change of the Ger- man heart respecting the fulfiliment of Gbli- gations. Our policy remains unchanged, to wit, to collect reparations.” * ok ok ok Italy.—We have no authentic information as to the new terms offered by Mussolini for a Fiume settlement, nor as to the reaction of the Belgrade government thereto. Rumors are legion and are more or less plausible. Rather less than more. The commission composed of French, Brit- ish and Italians, with a Japanese president, ap- pointed by the conference of ambassadors to investigate the murders on Greek territory of the Italian members (including attached per- sons) of the interallied commission for the de- limination of the Albanian frontler, and to re- port among other things whether or no the Greek government had exercised due dili- gence in the prosecution of measures looking to the apprehension of the murderers, reported that the Greek government had not exercised due diligence. Therefore the conference of ambassadors ordered that the fifty million lire deposited by the Greek government in the Swiss National Bank as a guarantee be paid at once to the Itallan government. See my sum- mary of September 15 for the other monetary penalties. The Italians fulfilled their engagement and evacuated the seized islands on September 27. It may seem a little curious that, in this altruistic world that has emerged from “the war to end war” the voice of no government has been raised upon the account of the Ar- menian orphags slain in the intrepid Italian as- sault on Corfé. But, perhaps, the Italians were acting an altruistic part. They provided a spirit- ual home for the homeless waifs, children without a country. * % k% Bulgaria.—For years now Muscovite propa- ganda and intrigue in the Balkans have con- centrated on Bulgaria. The coup of June 9, which overthrew the agrarians and transferred the power to the bourgeois and the military, gave the communists their chance, for it in- sured, if not the active support df the peas- antry in any communist movement directed against the new government, at least their neutrality. The communists seem to have SEPTEMBER 30, 1923—PART 2. - The Story the Week Has Told - their sacred bands have been swelled by peas- ant converts, and no doubt many other peas- ants have participated in the outbreaks as al- lies. But the complexion of the business ls communist. The peasants are tools. Apparently the communist leaders missed their opportunity. The minister of interior dis- covered their plans for a co-ordinated movement throughout the country and clapped the most important in quod. Result: Instead of the co- ordinated "movement contemplated, which might have gone far to succeed, a multitude of petty local unco-ordinated uprisings, sup- pressed with no great difficulty by army de- tachments. But there seems to be one excep- tion. In an area in northwest Bulgaria, about half-way between Sofla and the Danube, wher of the chief towns are Ferdinandova and Ber- kovatz, there is, according to an official com- munique from Sofia, a concentration of about 5,000 armed communists and peasants, against whom the government has dispatched a force of 4,000 troops. The latter should be able promptly to report a successful battle, after which, if one may believe the communique, there 'will be nothing lacking to the restora- tion of peace and happiness in Bulgaria except a little cleaning up In odd corners. (As this 8oes to press, I learn that the battle was suc- cessful.) There is a curious aspect of the situation. The treaty of Neullly allows to Bulgaria the following armed forces only: A regular army of 20,000, a frontier corps of 3,000, and 10,000 police—all volunteers. Both the small pay and, in the case of the army, the long.term of en- listment (viz, twelve years), have prevented re- cruitment of these forces beyond the following strengths (approximate figures): Army, 7.500; frontier corps, 500; police, 4,000. Obviously “these forces were insufficient to deal with in- surrection on a large scale. Therefore, Premler Tzankoff, representing to the interallied com- mission of military control (still in Bulgaria supervising exePution of the Neuilly treaty) how “the third internationale was planning to extend sovietism to Bulgaria and then to the other Balkan states and thereafter in a grand sweep westward,” and how “Bulgaria was fighting the world's struggle against com- munism,” requested their permission to double his army by his own method of recruitment or levy. According to the Associated Press, the commissioners obtained from their governments authorization for the Bulgarian government to “increase its military forces to such strength as it might) deem necessary to cope with the situation in the interior.” If the al- lied governments really made so wide a con- cesslon, it is highly significant. The Tzankoff government has been suspected, fof example, of taint through support thereof by the pro-Ger- man element, of a militarist temper, of a res lution to seek unlawful opportunities for mak. ing Bulgaria a corridor to the _Aegean and for recovering Macedonfa. But all these suspicions, it seems, are as down on the wind when a serious communist menace pre- sents itself. But there is another considera- tion to be set down here. It is not impossible that the allied governments are most satisfied than otherwise with the Tzankoff government. Tzankoff, himself, has the reputation of a capable and honest patriot without pro-Ger- man or chauvinist leanings. Probably no bet- ter bourgeois could be found. To be sure, he governs only by aid of the military, but the only alternatives in sight to a bourgeois gov- ernment are a communist government or an agrarian one. Much as one may favor the prin- ciple of a peasant government in a country 80 per cent of whose population are peasants, the Agriarians are obviously not yet fit to wield the power. . * % Kk * United States of America.—More than a ma- jority of the lower house of the Oklahoma leg- islature met in their state capitol on Wednes- day, with the declared purpose of instituting impeachment proceedings against the govern- or of the state. As the speaker pro tem. rais- ed his hand to call the meeting to order a .jards than those which might be es- It would appear that Hitler has fail- ed to solidify the monarchist and communist elements of Bavaria in the cause of overthrowng the republican government, as once proposed. Communists Still Active. Though the troubles in Bavaria may have been halted for the moment and the monarchists are waiting In abey- ance until more opportune time, the communist machinations throughout Germany continue apace and their| influence may yet provoke tremendous civil strife. The reds are assailing the government for capitulation in the Ruhr, declaring that this marks subserviance to the capitalistic ele- ments of both Germany and France. Though twidespread outbreaks of communists are feared, the Berlin gdv- ernment is watching more closely at present communist influence in de- laying return of labor in the Ruhr, which admittedly, in turn, will hinder efforts of the Strésemann government to reach upderstandings with Poin- care. Generally, workers in the Ruhr have been complaisant in regard to withdrawal - of passive resistance, save where political passions have been fired. Labor union leaders have called upon the workers to return to work, but the French suspect that it will_be some weeks before this will | be done, in view of the extreme ha- Germans for the Frencl o = e o e e e of "Gesie ih | whole of the immigration system in assist in any way in furtherance of {the United States. Although = French plans of foréing Germany to{pore may seem insignificant when pay her just debts occasioned by the [7C Y T T Foany o the war. Seeking Settlement. critfes, I have the audacity to hope ‘While Stresemann 1s jockeying with | that the American public, 1rmvinfl the various conflicting currents in|read reports of hysterical women ani than the Bavarians are monarch: wind of this “dirty trick,” the Bavi BY PRINC INCE my A. BALASHEFF. arrival in this coun- try ‘1 have been reading criticisms of more or less prominent men on the condi- tions at Ellis Island and of the Germany proper, he has initiated steps |grumpy old gentlemen, may be in- looking toward bringing the French |terested in the opinion of a younger and German governmental viewpoints | person. g closer together. A few weeks ago I arrived in this But, while the French wait, presum- | country, and as _the Russian quota vas filled, T was detained for thirteen ably to see how far the Germans will | 385 TR Vg ration service sta- 8o in ending passive resistance, any- {ijon in Boston, so I am basing my thing or nothing may happen in Ger- | tiO% (% SOSCRTs 00y many to prevent realization of any|™gefore I left France I was warned plans at present proposed..It truth- i, BEfORC S B MOl an0q Thut for fully may be stated that the final set- | L1 i the shipping sEdicy tary conditions largely governing any 5 3 final decision. For all statesmen real- | States under one of the exceptions ance the French refuse to commit themselves to immediate negotiations looking toward settlement of the reparations question. Tt is declared in Berlin, and, ad- Resumed Trade Urged on U. S. Business Men An effort to enlist 2,000 representa- tive American manufacturers and ex- port houses in the resumption of trade with Russia will be made by the committee on Russian trade, just organized in this city, with Henry T. Tunt, former member of the Railroad Labor Board, as chairman. “Russlan conditions are rapidly ap- proaching stability,” Mr. Hunt, law yer and a former mayor of Cincin- nati, said at the committee’s head- quarters, 120 Broadway. “The soviet regime has realized that extreme and radical bolshevism, if continued, would lead to even further economic ruin of the country. As a result, steps are being taken to protect honest business transactions and make possible trade with safety. Report in Progress The committee, Mr. Hunt said, is preparing a@ industrial report which will exhausidvely describe Russian conditions. The investigation on which the report is to be based was econducted by & group of experts, in- cluding Valerian E. Greaves, a for- mer professor of law in the Univer- sity of ~Petrograd, and Ellery A. ‘Baker, formerly in charge of the in- dustrial department of the National City Bank of New York. Co-operating with the committe are representatives of export bodies and trade associations, including the American _Manufacturers’ Foreign Credit_Exchange and Lloyds of Lon- don. Monroe Curtis is ai®ng the work from Berlin. The committee, it is said, is studying the possibility of obtaining credit insurance on &t least a portigm of the shipments, and y hed to New York ize that if haste is not made any (S0 they telegrap and all settlements may be knocked|and had the whole matter arranged. “ » b “|By a stroke of bad luck we touched n?gglhc“u;»n:v:l:.oc‘(m hat” by Ger- 7Y Boston instead of New York and it took thirteen days to get my papers fixed. - 2 Gets Unpleasant Shock. it ussia When I got oft the ship, after a 5 very pleasant trip, and set foot for the first time in my life on American soil, I was full of the brightest hopes, and the knowledge that I was to be detained, perhaps - even deported, came as an unpleasant shock. I tried %o explain to the immigration au- will make arrangements for financ- | tporities that I came under one-of ing. the exceptions, but they could do o i without_corroboration o ‘The solution of this problem of :&tthel:‘gm S i Russian trade,” according to Mr. Hunt, { Seatoment, trom, N sent with sev- “lles in proper organization. The |eral others to the immigration serv- committee, a non-profit body, will re- ice station. I cl{mot !-);.hth'.ntlt“l has main strictly impartial regarding all |& pleasant location or thaf s a political conditions in Russia. work of art from the point I:f vlla:: “If American business men delay {Of architecture, but the outside ol action much longer, the richest pos- has rather a pleasant appearance. sibilities for Immediate trade will We were all led nto a spacious have been exploited b; ritish, | room, furnished w! a_num| o Germans and ather fordign meomaat: | benches and_tables. The lighting and and many of the opportunities for|ventilation were very good. Every- substantial profits will have disap- |thing was simple, but sufficient, and peared. Therefore, immediate —and {if it were not for its occupants, the concerted action of a great number | Place might have been very pleasant. of American manufacturers is neces- Various Human Types. sary. y 4 int *3¢ 18 the Helle? (0f the: Soptmibtie s m ot e \D et oL Fou full of various human types. You that an intelligent, careful and sclen- oy e i 4 tific study of present Industrial and | Cor onarionattdies. an y all nationalities and races. The economic conditions in Russia. and|gominating class were Chinamen, of the possibilities of trade with the | and although at first I%hought this United States, and of the resources |rather an undesirable state of affairs, of Russia which could be used in the | by the end of my sojourn I was very United States, and of products of the | thankful for the fact, because I have United States which could be used in|to confess that the Chinese were Russia, would give a sound founda- | much neater’ and cleaner than the tion for the development of a prac- | Buropeans. After looking around, the tical scheme of operations which |place I started & conversation Wwith could be put into effect between the|a man who had been detained at Russian nationals and the nationals |the immigration station for ovef a of the United States. month. He seemed to be extremely “The committee further believes indignant with the immigration au- that the former Russian empire, now | thorities for keeping him in such known as the Russian soviet repub- | quarters, spoke volubly of the dirt of lic, cannot forever remain in eco-[the Chinese, the untidiness of the nomic obscurity, and that on account | apartment, and to emphasize his dis- of its tremendous resources, raw ma- frequently spat on the floor. | terials and population it must, in the | This situation was rather typical near future, re-establish its relations|of most of the immigrants. They with the werld at large. seemed to be very much disturbed by “The industrial resources of the|the dirt that they were making them- United States are peculiarly wellselves, but no one did anything to adapted to the upbuilding of Rus-|eliminate it. On the contrary. they sia, economically and industrially. Be- | created it wherever they could, and yond doubt the rich fleld of Russian |although the place was cleaned up trade is opén to us,” twice & .day, the immigrants some= varia to replace them temporarily, about twice their number of reichswehr troops from Saxony and Thuringia, men not less anti-monarchist ist. Getting arian chiefs PRINCE BLAMES ALIENS FOR EVILS AT U. S. PORTS| Himself Held for 15 Days,.He Declares No Other Nation Could Handle Immigrants as Well. ’ Low or other managed to keep it in & state of perpetual filth, and they did not stop “at their apartment. Most of them kept their own bodies in the same condition. I do not think | that 10 per cent of the whole bunch used the warm water sprays that were put at their disposal. The im- migration authorities could do noth- ing, because these people were neither children nor criminals and cleanliness is the hardest thing to enforce if a person hasn't the remotest idea of it. . Authorities Helpless. It is all very well for Sir Auckland Geddes or any other person to be shocked at the flith of the immigra- tion stations, but they all seem to forget tHat the percentage of cul- tured people who are detained is very small and when such a thing occurs the immigration ,authorities can do nothing, because the immi- grants in themselves are a class and it is impossible to make any excep- tions based on social standing or edu- cation without being unfalr. Thousands upon thousands of aliens are streaming into the United States, making life for the citizens harder by bringing in a keener com- petition and cheapening labor. In the history of nations America is the only country that has shown such a liberal hospitality. All those who have been persecuted in their own country - find food, shelter and a 'triendly welcome in the United States. 1 1”1 am sorry to say that there are many who abuse this wonderful trait in American nature. Surprised at Effciency. Coming back to my experiences at the immigration station, I want to emphasize two things: first of all, the extreme politeness—I should say even deference—with which I was treated by the immigration authori- ties, ahd secondly, the food. It was not a delicate French kitchen, but everything was well cooked, the pro- visions were above all criticism and the quantity was more than suffi- clent. When I look over the whole situation, the only thing that sur- prises me is how the immigration authorities are able to keep up such comparatively good conditions, and when foreigners begin criticising I feel very much inclined to advise them to shut up. And if they want to criticise, they might try to open one of their own ports to the whole world and by a good example give the Americans a lesson in adminis- tration. I am quite confident that at the present moment no other nation could cope with the immigration problem half as well as the Amer- |icans do. And when people speak skillfully “exploited” the hatred of the peas- ants for the bourgeois. The report is prob- able true that they had been financed and supplied with arms from Moscow. No doubt military officer bade those present disperse by order of the governor. They dispersed. The latest developments in this strange contro- versy will be reported next week. 'ONCE PROUD WARSHIPS SOON WILL BE MERE JUNK Under Treaties, Materials From U. S. Craft, Scrapped to Go to Trade and Industry. NTERESTING demonstrations of the methods of ship breaking have just been made at the New York navy yard in con- nection with the scrapping of vessels of war under the naval treaty. These were made on the great hulls of the battleships Indlana and South Da- kota, on which work was stopped when the ships were about 33 per cent completed. Capt. Edmund W. Bonnaffon, one of the best known officers of the United States Navy Supply Corps, in his capacity as officer in charge of the sale of Navy vells, has charge of this, the largest sale of war ves- sels ever conducted in the country. Capt. Bonnaffon, in discussing the sale and in telling how these- ships will finally be disposed of, said: “The five great naval powers, the United States, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan, agreed, in the con- ference at Washington, which was one of the most notable assemblag of President Harding's administra- tion, that the size of capital ships and the tonnage of navies should be limited, ending the race in warship building. Ratio for World Navies, “That conference provided that the United States and Great Britain should maintain navies of practically the same size and that the ratio of size of the three leading navies, those of the United States, Great Britain and Japan, should be 5—5—3, the latter figure being Japan's. It was agreed that the vessels under construction exceeding 35,000 tons were not to be completed and that enough of the older battleships should be eliminated to reduce the total tonnage to the amount each country would be allowed to main- tain. That treaty, limiting naval armament, was finally ratified on August 17, and the United States Navy immediately took steps to carry out its provisions 5o far as this coun- try is concerned. Two of the older battleships which were to be elimin- ated were turned over to the Army for bombing purposes, and you read in the newspapers a week or ten days ago how they were bombed and sunk by aeroplanes off the North Carolina coast. Two others have been retained by the Navy for target practice and experimental purposes. Will Go to Useful Purposes. “But the Navy Department, in dis- posing of the remaining vessels ‘which are to be scrapped, determined to dispose of them so that the steel and other materials In them should be turned back to useful purposes, of the inefficiency’ of the provisions |to be utilized in trade and industry. made for immigrants by the United States it is either~stupidity or spite that prompts them. Prince A. Balasheft is the & Prince Cantacuzene, former bassador to the United States and who served the czar in Washington more than thitty years ago. Prince Balashefl's other, Princess Mary Cantacusene, was an art student here while her father was in the diplomatic service. At that time she met Miss Marietta Mignegerode, now Mrs. Andrews, widow of the late Eliph- alet Fraser Andrews, artist and fnstruc- tor at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. - Mrs. Andrews and Prince Balasheft’s mother belng intimafe friends, he came to_the TUnited States at the invitation of Mrs. Andrews,to pursue further courses of - study. Prince Balashef® is but eighteen years of m—:w. ‘mote, = . % So it was decided to offer them for sale, by sealed bids, the vessels to be scrapped by the purchasers, so that all the steel, copper, brass and other metals they contain, their en- gines, machinery and equipment will be turned to the uses of peace. “These ships will be sold in four great sales. The first, on October 25, will be of vessels under construc- tion at.navy yards, which will be s0ld in Ytheir present state of com- pletion. These vessels, had they been completed, would have been the largest and most powerful war ves- sels in existence. “The battleships like the Indiana and the South Dakota at the New York navy, yard, the North Caro! at Norfolk and the Montana at Mare Island, Calif, were designed to be 684 feet long and of 43,200 tons dis- placement. The battle cruisers Con- stitution and United States at the Philadelphia navy yard, which are also to be disposed of in this sale, are even larger, 874 feet long, and would have been the swiftest of all capital ships. New Vessels Alxo to Go. “When we recall that the Pennsyl- vania, which was the flagship of the fleet in the world war, is 31,400 tons, and the Connecticut, which was the flagship of “Fighting Bob” Evans in the voyage of the fleet around the world in 1907, is only 16,000 tons, you can gain some idea of the size of these huge vessels. The other ships under construction at private yards, the Towa at Newport News, the Massachu- setts at Fore River, Mass., and the battle cruisers Ranger and Constellation at Newport News, are to be sold on November 8. “Five of the older battleships which are to be scrapped will be sold on November 1—the New Hamp- shire, Louisiana, Georgia, Rhode Is- land 'and Connecticut; and the six others to be disposed of will be sold on November 30—the Michigan, Min- nesota, Kansas, Vermont, Nebraska and Delaware. Three of these are of 14,948 tons, the remainder of 16,000 tons, except the Delaware, which is 20,000 tons. “Under the terms of the treaty these cannot be sold or given to any other nation; they cannot be used as merchant ships, so that they must bo scrapped. And that means the biggest scrapping job of the kind ever done In this country. Under the terms of sale they must be scrapped by the purchasers within eighteen months after the date of ratification of the treaty, which went into effect August 17. Task Not Difficult One. “While this will be the biggest scrapping job on war vessels ever undertaken in this country, with modern methods and apparatus, it can easily be accomplished with the oxy-acetylene torch and other gas and electric apparatus. Ship plates, beams and even the heaviest armor, can be cut into convenient sizes so that they can be utilized or re- melte “Vessels like this will, of course, be scrapped on the ways as they are. In the case of tMe battleships afloat, completed vessels, the pro- cesses of cutting and scrapping are much the same though the proce- dure is varied to suit conditions. First, of course, the machinery and equipment that can be hoisted is re- moved. Then begins work on the hull. This is the method pursued by one successful ship-breaker. First he removes the side armor plate from the inside shell of teak into sections weighing from twenty-five to forty tons. These are swung to upright positions and cut with oxy- acetylene torches into pieces two feet by six feet, of convenient size for feeding into the charging boxes of open-hearth furnaces where they are melted, later to be reforged. After the armor plate Is removed, the gun- turret machinery, ammunition hoists and refrigerator systems are broken up by workmen and reduced to small scrap by pile-drivers or other break- ing apparatus. Then the plates, beams and other parts of the vessel are cut up and removed. Every part of it is utilized, all which cannot be sold in_existing shape being converted remelted for com- U : S. CHILD LABOR BAN AMENDMENT TO BE PRESSED Crusaders Against Evil Say Legislation Sure to Come Congress HILD labor legislation is to be pressed in the new Congress. Crusaders against the child labor evil predict that this is likely to be the twentieth amendment to the Constitution, effective when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states. Attempts to regulate child labor by statutory legislation have been de- omred unconstitutional. To meet this situation Representative John Jacob Rogers of Massachusetts intends to reintroduce his amendment to the Constitution, authorizing Con- gress to regulate the employment of minors. It is probable that this or some other resolution of similar in- tent will be passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. The childrens’ bureau of the De- partment of Labor suggests that any amendment adopted by Congress shall give to Congress the power to 1imit or prohibit the employment of persons under eighteen years of age and shall also reserve to the states the right to establish higher stand- tablished by Congress as a result of ratification of the amendment. Outline Essentialn. Essentials which should be included in any child labor amendment are de- fined by the bureau as follows: “That the state is protected in its right to raise standards: so that the federal regulation will be the mini- mum _standard of protection for the_children. “That the power given Congress is general; so that not only present but future needs may be cared for. This means, for instance, that Congress should be granted the power to pro- tect working children until they are at least eighteen, even though it may not be possible or necessary at rresent to legislate for boys and girls up to eighteen. “That the language should be sim- ple and clear; so that questions of judicial interpretation will not be involved, causing delay and fusion.” e Child labor is on_the increase in the United States. Figures obtained by the childrens’ bureau fndicate an compared with 1921, and in 1923, as compared with 1921, and in 1923 .as compared with 1922, These figures are based on the number of children | receiving work permits or employ- ment certificates, not including, how- ever, those issued for vacation em- | ployment. | con- Up in Next Session. Increases in child labor began dur- ing the war and reached its peak in 1918. It began to decline in the late summer cf 1920. With better times in 1922, the reports of the chilldrens’ bureau showed a new increase in child workers, Ten states have more than 10 per cent of the children of ages ten to fifteen years at work. These are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgla, Louisi- ana, Mississippl, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Ten- nessee and Texas. Illiteracy is above the average and school attendance below the average in each of these states. ‘The total number of child workers in the United States is 1,060,858, or one in every twelve of the children of ten to fifteen years old in the country. Most of them, or about 61 per cent. are engaged in agricultural, forestry and animal husbandry; 17.5 per cent In manufacturjng and mechanical industries; 7.6 per cent in clerical occupations; about 6 per cent in trade, and about 5 per cent in domes- tic and personal service. In the whole United States, 8.5 per cent of the children ten to fifteen years, inclusive, are workers. Limiting the figures to non-agri- cultural occupations, 3.3 per cent of children in the United States as a whole are found in such occupations. States with the largest numbers of child workers are: Alabama, 84,000; Arkansas, 48.000; Georgia, §9,000; 1llinols. ' 37,000; ' Kentucky, 27,000; Louisiana, 32,000; Massachusetts, 34.- 000; Mississippi, 70,000; Missouri, 23,000; New Jersey, 26,000; New York, 50,000; North Carolina, 62,000; Okla- homa, 23,000; Pennsylvania, 56,000; South Carolina, 64,000; Tennessee, 40,000; Texas, 81,000, and Virginia, 25,00 tates with the largest numbers in non-agricultural _ occupations _are: Illinols, 31,000; New Jersey, 25,000; New York, 47,000; Massachusetts, 33,000, and Pennsylvania, 50,000. Probe Wide in Scope. The childrens’ bureau has to date investigated child labor in mines, in manufacturing, including industrial home work, in Rhode Island; in transportation, and in agriculture, including the tobacco farms of Mas- sachusetts and Connecticut. The bureau’s studies show that many working children are irregular in school attendance, are retarded in their school work and leave school with only a fourth-grade education. “As a result, working children are, in a high percentage of cases, illit- erate or nearly so,” the bureau says. Great Britain and America And Relationship to World (Continued from First Page.) | | the other we find something entirely | different, & new growth also, but of absolutely different structure and | different capabilities, something ac- cidental and precarious and mani- festly provisional. A London com-| pany running a system of trading stations acquired almost inadvert- ently amidst a wild political welter in India the empire of the Great Mogul. Great Britain has ‘taken over this company’s possessions, en- larged them, given India a peace and a certain unity, educated her people— but not widely nor sufficiently—de- veloped her resources, but not very generously, and manifestly has but the vaguest ideas of her future. The educational and intellectual develop- ment of the British people has not kept pace with this rapid expansion of British responsibilities. Our world | responsibilities nave increased a hundredfold in the last century, but our educated class, our supply of potential rulers, directors and the ltke, our university organizations, have not increased tenfold. It is an open question whether on the whole we have most hampered or benefited India. Or vice versa. But at an¥ rate it must be clear that the essociation of the Indian system with the dominion system is an accidental and transitory association. They both happen to be parts of the British empire, but there is no necessary connection. The two move at dif- terent rates and in divergent direc- tions. A man may be—I know Aus- trallans who are—what I may call a dominion-imperialist, but not an In- dian-imperialist. He may believe, as I do, in the need for a sedulous pres- ervation and intensification of the intellectual community of the Eng- lish-speaking peoples and in an at- tentive care for every possibility of understanding and sympathetic co- cperation with the United States of America, and at the same time he may be as convinced as I am of our duty and obligation to educate and crgamze India as speedily as possible for separation, for a friendly and in- dependent existence within the world commonweal of peoples. “Draw Nearer to America.” We British have not sufficient natura! moral and intellectual su- periority to the Indian pedples, we have mnot a sufficiently organized | neither populated by a word or so wbout purely strategic possessions, Malta, Gibraltar and so forth; they are part of our armament and their destiny is dependent upon the possibility of a world assocla- tion sufficiently convineing to make disarmament possible. But there still remain great areas that are kindred com- munities nor subject -civilizations, barbaric regions that have been taken over in order to exploit their natural resources and prevegt their being monopolized and closed against us by some hostile power. The great overseas “empire” of Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was of this type. Such areas of eco- romic subjugation are a very ancient type of foreign possession. Calls Tariff 3 Form of War. The Americans decided a century and a half ago that one necessary condition of existence for a federal union of sovereign states was uni- versal free trade. All interference with the free movement of another community’s trade, all tariff barriers and the like, are a mild form of war. It must be plain to every one that the present division of Africa is ex- tremely unstable and that if the sys- tem of competitive powers in Europe is to go on, it is only a question of how long it will take France to feel secure enough against Germany to set about fighting for the whole of raw- material Africa. The organized peace of the world, the coming world civili- zation, demands not only a.cessation of armaments, but a cessation of commercial discrimination and such like material injuries. But these areas of undeveloped natural resources, of unexploited forests and minerals and the like, sustaining only a sparse or under- civilized population, must have ad- ministration and development form without. If that is not to be the dangerous task and privilege of a single cxploiting state it must be the task of some as yet nou-existent body acting in the common interest. Tntil that federal body can be de- veloped and equipped with forces and resources of its own—it is the most urgent of all necessary precautions against a future great war—there is nothing for us to-do but to go on Lolding these possessions of the third order, without trading discrimina- tion or settlement discrimination educational system nor a sufficient production of highly educated men to justify our continued usurpation of India’s right to think out and work out its own role in the confederation cf mankind. And we are different from these dusky peoples; we do not work with them easily; we hamper them and they hamper us intolerably. But released from our entanglement with a population six or seven times as numerous as our own, Our en- tanglement with this great mix-up of temperamentally alien peoples, the British and the associated English- speaking communities scattered around the earth, extending their educational organization and devel- oping their still crude intellectual and political possibilities, may play 2 modest and yet leading part in that great synthesis which will ulti- mately give the world enduring peace. “Disentangle from India, draw nearer to America, come out of and keep out of ententes and alliances upon the continent of Eu- rope”; these are the broad lines upon which I conceive the British system may best serve itself and mankind. So far, I have considered the Brit- ish empiré only from the points of view of the English-speaking do- minions and of Indla. I will leave Egypt and Palestine, as they ought to be left, outside the discussion. They are, I take it, relaxing pro tectorates. Nor will I say, more than against any other race or people. It is part of the fantastic nation- !alism that still plays so astonishing a part in the political life of the world, to hold that every definable region of the earth's surface belongs, from sky to center, to the inhab- itants it supports. But with every increase in facilities of movement this becomes constantly more impos- sible. It would, for example, place the vast mineral wealth of Labrador at the disposal of a few hundred wandering Red Indians. The World for the World. The conception of a federated world | syetem carries with it the idea that all the land and sea of the world, all the natural resources of the world, animal, vegetable or mineral, belong to all the people of the world, and that any assignation, reservation, ymandate or monopolization of this or that region is entirely a temporary arrangement for the universal good. The British “empire,” in respect to this class of possession, is therefore in the position of a trustee for an anborn but inevitable heir. In any world federation that may arise in the course of the next cen- tury or so, the English-speaking communities, which already number over 200,000,000 people, must neces- sarily play a leading part. (Copyright, 1923, United States and Canads, by North American N Copyright jn Great Britaln W the Empire Beview.)