Evening Star Newspaper, November 18, 1923, Page 43

NEW CUBAN AMBASSADOR '+ WELL FITTED FOR POST First Envoy of That Rank, Cosme de la Torriente, Has Had Wide Experience and Is Internationally Prominent. BY BEN MCKELWAY. UBA has been fortunate jn her cholce of Cosme de la Torri- ente as her first ambassador *n the United States, for she mends a man to Washington who is well qualified by his natural ability and long training to take over the af- fairs of his country here at a rather ‘ritical perfod in its relations with the United States. Dr. Torriente is not only an outstanding and pictur- sque figure in the national life of his own country, but he has become internationally prominent through his recent election as president of the assembly of the league of natlons. Dr. Torriente passed through Wash- ington Thursday and conferred with Secretary of State Hughes, leaving mediately for Cuba. He is expect- od to return within a few weeks and | oresent his credentials and take up s active dutles here. While it is understood that Ambassador Crowder | has nearly completed the work for which he returned to the United States from Cuba some time ago, it is understood that he may postpone his return to Cuba until after Dr. Tor- “lente comes back. It 1s probable that Dr. Torriente’s conversation with Sec- otary Hughes last week was to in- ‘orm " him of this country’s at'itude | oward recent actions of the Cuban | ‘ongress and President Zayas, which 1e wiil outline to the administration heads in Havana. Soon to Adopt Reforms. Cuba has been slow to put into ef- fect many of the reform measures ad- ‘ocated by Ambassador Crowder, and when her congress passed the recent ottery bill, designed to more heavily ourden a tree already well filled with political plums for administration favorites, there were many who saw | in her actlon a direct affront to the | work of the American representative | at Havana. When the by passage bill ~indi sished to lottery Diil wa of the Tar railroad | tions were that Cubal dd insult to injury. The | tarafa bill, which became law after ortain modifications agreed upon by ! -ailroad and sugar Interests, has been | n effect for some time now, how- ver, and it is not known whether its present provisions meet the approval or disapproval of the American State Department. followed His Absence n Hebuke. There are those who see in Ambas- sador Crowder's continued absence ‘rom Cuba a mild rebuke for her tardiness In failing to enact some of tho measures agrced upon when she recelved the recent loan of $50,000,000 | from the United States, Dr. Tor- iente’s appointme efore, comes | it & time when Cubu's representattive ‘n Washington must handle diplo-| matic negotistions tending toward a| complete hetween States. tles of tie soclation of which Las mucl United Stat orm measures hastening ma Dr. Torriente was a colonel in he Cuban war and began his pislic service as sceretary and later gov- | Tnor of the province of Havana. He! s one of the organizers and active | Jeaders of the conservative party,’ New Western C wwhile and Patriots’ As- an organization | fn common with the| its aims toward re- | on the island- are ers to o er jas by the ten Latin American nations !many of the'matters with which he | ! the measures he sponsored ! chairman of a special commission ap- | founded in 1907, which elected Gen. Menocal president in 1912. He was a clvil service commissioner of Cuba for three years. His active diplomat- lc career began in 1903 as secretary and charge d'affaires at Madrid, rl'here he later served as Cuban min- ster. Becomes Secretary of State. In 1913 he became Cuba's secretary of state, In which position he was ! confronted with many dellcate inter- | national questions. He handled them with ability and tact and upon his election to the Cuban senate in 1917 | ‘was made chalrman of the committee | of foreign affairs, a position which he held until his appointment as am- bassador. Dr. Torriente headed Cuba's dele- gations to the first, second, third and fourth assemblies of the lcasue of nations and this vear was elected president. As the previous assembly had elected Senor Edwards of Chile, it was taken for granted that it would be many years befors another Latin American ‘was chosen for this | post. 'His candidacy was supported, | however, by Great Britain, France | and other European members, as well | represented in the fourth assembly. | In this connection, his friends recall | that Dr. Torrlents was as truly a European as an American candidate, | and noto that he was ardently pro | ally during the war. He presented and obtained the passage of a bill which appropriated funds from the Cuban treasury to assist the Red | Cross and other institutions of the allies. and as chalrman of a commit- tee which distributed these funds he disbursed more than a million and 2 half do'lars for the disabled soldiers, widows and orphans of the war in the United States and in Europe. Legion of Honor Member. Dr. Torriente has been awarded the French leglon of honor and other decorations fromBelgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Greece and Vene- zuela. He is a member of the per- manent court of arbitration at The Hague, of the inter-American high | commission and is vice president of the Cuban Society of International Law. | The new ambassador is avthor of | two volumes of speeches and ad- dresses, entitled “Cuba in International Lite.” He has published two works on the league of nations, the first covering the proceedings of the sec- ond assembly, the second covering the activitles of the league since its establishment under the treaty of Versailles through the third session. Sympathetic With U. S. As a result of his prominent posi- tion in the international life of Cuba Dr. Torriente has formed many close friends throughout Latin America and in Europe. He has a warm sym- pathy for the United States and has co-operated with Gen. Crowder in had to deal as a member of the Cuban ate. His work In the Cuban con- | s has been noteworthy. Among | were the three “Torriente laws” of 1921 rel: tive to the Cuban moratorium. He ; has also been working for an ade quate banking law for Cuba, & er THE .. SUNDAY STAR, WA SHINGTON. D. C, NOVEMBER 18, 1923—PART 2. The Story the Week Has Told BY HENRY W. BUNN. HE following is a brief of the most important news of the world for the ven days ended Novembef 1 * ok ok % Great Britaln—Parliament has been dis- solved and general elections will be held on December 6. On November 15 Ma Baldwin told the commons his reasons for this ‘step. He has regarded himself as bound by Bonar Law’s pledges to make no fundamental fiscal change without firet going to the country. He considers fundamental fiscal changes neces- sary; therefore he goes to the country. As to how far he proposes to go on the path of protection he did not commit himself, but he promised that this program would not include dutics_on important foodstuffs. New condi- tions, he said, demand a departure, far beyond the provisions of the safeguarding of the in- * dustries act from the policy of free trade. Among the compelling causes he cited the mounting tariff barriers of other countries: United States tariff up 75 per cent; Itallan, 100 per cent; Spanish, 125. He cited also the in- crease of the productive capacity of other countries (he was glancing at Germany) dur- ing and sigce the war, and the danger from this cause, combined depreciated exchanges of dumping on the London market. And, of course, he cited the consequences of the Ruhr occupation as a prime cause; but here he was rather vague. He hinted at the possibility of wicked Huggermugger work in the form of “exploitation of German labor by French and cosmopolitian financiers in co-operation.” He threw a sop to the agricultural interest by the proposal of a bonus on all land under the plow (with certain conditions' attached which seem to nullify its attractiveness). Once agaln he hinted at a rupture of the entente, unless France should change her pol- icles in conformity to British views. Lloyd George replied to the premler in his most effective style. He charged that the govern- ment was diverting the attention of the people und its own energies from the only effective mode of cure, to wit, co-operation with the United States toward a European settlement: that the government had falled to take full advantage of the evident inclination of the Washington government to co-operate. Inevitably the challenge to free trade has reunited the national (Lloyd George) and the independent (Asquith) liberals, Lloyd George accepting the leadership of Asquith. Specula- tlon is keen as to the extent (If any) to which the labor party will co-operate with the Mberals in connection with the elections, and later in the new parliament, on the free trade issue. Unless Mr. Baldwin makes his inten- tlons clearer, the coming contest between the conservatives and the liberals will resemble one of those Arthurian battles, in which one side was enveloped in thick mist while the other advanced in bright sunlight. * X %k X France—Another automobile caravan is about to cross the Sahara from Algeria to Timbuktu. The object is to explore for the best automobile, airplane route, along which stations would be established. A folding atr- plane will be used for a photographic survey. It is hoped to find a practicable route which will allow of making the journey in two days by airplane in eight by automobile. Start will be made from the southern terminal of the Oran railway. Hitherto for Europeans the approach to Timbuktu has been via Sene- Eal, making a three weeks' journey from France to Alglers. Fofled of her imperial deslgns in America and India France i{s emphatlcally making good in Africa. With the colonials, her manpower far exceeds Germany's. The problem is to make the colonfal contingents quickly avail- able. One frequently hears it sald that the per caplta taxation (Including all forms) in this country is the heaviest in the world (L e.), the highest in proportion to Income. That is not true. The honor belongs either to Britain or to France—it is doubtful to which—and by considerable margin over this country. By xploding the general notfon that France is undertaxed “Alpha,” writing in the September Forelgn Affairs, has done a great service to truth and against the propaganda of villifica- tion of France. * %k %k k Germany.—On November 10 Frederick Wil- liam, ex-crown prince of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Empire of Germany, left the bleak island of Wieringen, Holland. After four days of motoring he arrived at his great estate of Oels in Sliesia, where now he leads the life of a country gentleman, the world for- getting and content to be by the world for- got, ¢r 8o he says. Some say he had planned to be In Munich on the morrow of the coup, to lead Hitler's boys in a trlumphal march on Berlin, but learned betimes of the scurry trick that had been played. Others say that Strese- mann engineered his return in order to play him off against Bavaria, hoping to save the republic by setting the adherents of the-Wit- telsbach and the Hohenzollerns by the ears. There he is anyway, in Schloss Oels, whether or not himself ‘intriguing, fairly certain to be the center and Inspiration of intrigue. The wires were still hot with news of Wil- llam's “eruption,” when the conference of am- bassadors recelved from Berlin a_reply to their ultimatum, which demanded that pro- tectlon and facilities be given the Interallied commission of military control in Germany for resumption of the Investigations, suspended since the French and Belgians went Into the Ruhr, and that the German government report action taken or proposed in the premises. Stresemann admitted, “in principle,” the obiigation of compliance with the ambassa- dors’ demand, but expressed fear of both domestic and foreign “complications” should the commissioners ply their task at present, and therefore prayed that resumption of that task be postponed. The conference of ambassadors at Paris has had a busy week discussing these matters. The dispatches are not altogether clear In this connection, but apparently Poincare proposed a_joint alliea note to Germany, demanding that the crown prince be turned over to the allies, and compliance in the matter of the military control commission, on pain of fresh sanctions: to wit: Occupation of Hamburg by the British and of Frankfort (chiefly for its importance as a railroad center) by the French. At any rate Poincare proposed fur- ther “sanctions’ of importance, whatever their precise nature. According to the latest re- port, the British and Italian governments have decided not to approve further occupation of German territory, and have instructed their ambassadors in Paris In that sense. That this means a definite rupture of the entente, as the headlines are shoutlng, does not seem to me a necessary Inference. That France and Belgium will insist on making an issue of the prince seems doubtful, but that they will exact Penalties, probably in the form of further ter- ritorial seizures (not including Hamburg, one may be sure) should Beriln fafl to comply re- garding the military commission, seems cer tain. Unless the penalties are extremely severe is there reason to suppose that Britain and Italy will go farther than to express dis- approval of them as fll-advised? And dis- approval somewhat faint and uneasy at that, for It must be a considerable minority (if, in- de=d, a minority) of Britons and Itallans who agree with Polncare that it is of first impor~ tance that, complications or no complications, and to forestall worse complications, the allies have at this precise time full Information as to the extent of Germany's violations of the disarmament clauses of the treaty. As pro- vided by the Versailles treaty the reparations commission is to lend its ears to a representa- tive of the German government expounding why his government cannot resume repara- tlons deliveries at present. Moreover, through the French member of the commission, M Poincare has proposed an advisory committee almost precisely of the constitution of the committee proposed by Lord Curzon, and with functions limited as Poincare insisted that those of Curzon's committee shou!d be; with the further limitation that ascertainment of German capacity of payment should extend to and including the year 1927 only (instead of 1930, as Poincare proposed for Curzon's com- mittee). Our government would be invited to “participate,” but its ‘“participation” 1s, of course, out of tl question. It remains to be seen whether the British government will consent to participate. Such a commission, In Polncare’s view, would be most usefully em- ployed in discovering the whereabouts of ex- patriated Germon gold credits. Complete In- formation on this head would be Invaluable, of course, but the difficulties in the way of its acquisition seem insurmountable. The negotlations between the occupying authorities in the Ruhr and the Stinnes and Thyssen Interests have been broken off. The German magnates insisted that they could not “carry on” under the conditions proposed by the French unless the workmen should consent to give ten hours’ work for an eight-hour wage, and the workmen refused to be thus exploited. And now comes a report (too fan- tastic, however, for ready bellef) that Strese- mann has resolved to wash his hands of the Rhineland and the Ruhr, all help from Berlin to cease on the 25th, German administration to be suspended, and the local authorities and industrial magnates to be vested with pleni- pontiary powers to make arrangements with the occupying authorities. The consent of the reichstag to such a strange proceeding would be necessary, and one doubts it would be glven. Speaking in a large way, the suppres- sfon of the “beer hall revolution” made Von Kahr undisputed cock of the walk in Bavaria, established nationalism a la Wittelsbach as the ticket and_ discredited nationalism a la Hohenzollern. Bavaria has given Stresemann little trouble during the week, and the same is to be said of red Saxony and red Thuringia. The Rhineland and Palatinate republics have faded out of dispatches. On November 15, the new Rentenbank issued its first notes, and 1ssue of marks (now totaling about twenty quintil- lions) was to cease. This experiment will be followed with extreme Interest. * % X * Greece.—~The republican extremists in Greece wanted to proclaim a republic immediately after the recent reactionary counter revolu- tlon, but, apparently impressed by representa- tions from London, Paris and Belgrade, Col. Flastinas, head of the revolutionary commit- tee, prevailed on his excited followers to hold their wild horses. A hint, however, was con- veyed to King George that he would do well to take a vacation pending the elections and the deciston of the new national assembly as to the form of government for the future. King George assented, probably with joy. He wants to go to southern California. It is & Kood bet that the Acropolls and the banks of the Illisus will know him no more. Whether the Greeks, who have inherited with some tincture of the anclent blood all the political instabllity, but none of the genius of the Greeks of the age of glory, would thrive bet- ter and live more peacefully as a republic than under a monarchy, is dubitative. * %k %k % Mincellaneous.—The plan for the rehabilita- tion of Hungary under league of natfons auspices after the Alistrlan model is coming on. There {s a new “Palestine Arab nationa! party,” organized to give full effect to Arab nationalist sentiment in Palestine. Its siogan 1s “Palestine for the Arabs” and, since the population is overwhelmingly Arab, the =logan, a8 slogans go, doesn't seem to be abso- lutely unreasonable. ‘The report that Sun Yat Sen has fled from Canton was Incorrect, but apparently his forces are being very hard pressed by those of Gen. Chen Kwang Ming. Of Sun's small navy two cruisers recently deserted him, and two others, proceeding to do so, ran aground. An American humane conference sat recent- 1y in New York. The conference protested against the annual slaughter in North America of 20,000,000 fur-bearing animals, mostly for the satisfaction of feminine vanity. More par- ticularly they protested against the use of the steel trap, as the cruelest Instrument of tor- ture yet devised True, but why worry? Man (and woman) Is the cruelest of the beasts You may divert the alm of his crueity, appar- ently you cannot lessen its sum. pointed to draft this legislation. A bill now before the Cuban congress ! establishes a new banking system for Cuba, including a reserve bank on the lines of the Unlted States federal reserve system. Dr. Torriente is fifty years old. otton Projects May Solve Peril of Boll Weevil With cotton soaring new high | levels and much higher prices pre- icted, and with discouraging results | \ the fight against the boll weevil, | ports from the reclamation bureau ! ©f the Department of the Interior on | votton growing on some of the Irri- watlon projects stand out like the sil- ver lining to the cloud. The Salt River proje by far the argest of the four on which cotton s grown, has total acreage of 215,- available for cultivatior 5tal, but 66,090 were put und 1on cultivation ended. Of 415 ;rlm th. tho raised, §49. $.460 lue representing . while of the s Do ible acreags ording to the last figures re v 1ad 21,420 acres in cotfon. The yle ore was heavy also, there being ~aised 4,225,000 pounds of the long .taple and 7.600.000 pounds of seed, | valued altogether at $1,236,050. The Rio Grands project of 116.000 icres turned out 6,049,500 pounds ot | aotton and 12, pounds of seed | rom the 26,422 acres in cotton. This| product was sold for §1,624,443. The Carlsbad project, the smallest the lot, ng altogether had practicall Enormous Jump In Alcohol Trade| Hnormous increase in the produc- tion of denatured alcohol, rising from 4,313,478.83 wine gallons during 1907- 1908, the first period for which fig- ures are avallable following the en- wctment of the tax-free legislation of tho previous year, to 33,299,166.37 in 922 was reported by the American ‘hemical Society In making publie vesterday the results of a survey con- | ducted by James P. McGovern of ‘Washington, D. C. Of the 1922 yleld, 17,089,263.54 gal- lons were specially denatured and 16,208,902.83 were completely denatur- ed. Striking increase in the number of formulas by which alcohol can be poisoned and rendered unfit for bev- crage purposes is shown. Since tax-free denatured alcohol was first produced In the United States under the act of June 7, 1906, “for use in the arts and industries ind for fuel, light, and power,” 117 tformulas, chiefly’ for specially dena- tured aicohol have come into exis- tence with the sanction of the com- missloner of internal revenue. More than half of the formulas have been | devised since the world war, imost of these since prohibition. “While,” says the soclety’s inter- sretation, “the total amounts for each )t the fiscal years ending June 30, 516, 1917, 1918, and 1919, respectively, xceed those for 1920, 1921, and 1922, he difference may be largely attrib- uted to the tremendous withdrawals of speclally denatured alcohol, formu- ia 3-B, for the manufacture of smoke- less powder, trinitro-toluene and other war materials, and & compari- son of the totals of the years shown (excluding the war years) will reveal with greater accuracy the normal but and | flgures is that they indicate, except- | weevil, has fafled to gain a foothold | gleaned from long and bitter combat the entire acreage in cotton. It vielded 3,320,000 pounds of cotton and 6,400,000 pounds of sced, and | netted $928.000. Production in Infancy. The encouraging part about these ing in the Carlsbad field, that the surface of production has hard'y been more than scratched. Future develop- ment would greatly increase the total ylelds from these flelds. And more Important yet, the dread enemy of the cotton grower, the boll in this section. With the knowledge with this great foe of the cotton in- dustry. which presents & problem that threatens the country at large, ex- perts are ready to combat the slight- cst sign_ of its advent In the new flelds. Bura Out Boll Weevil. The development of new flelds such as these may g0 a long way toward permitting the drastic step urged for the elimination of the weevil. This proposal has been to burn over great sections of cotton, destroying the weevil and its eggs. As an alterna- tive, it has been suggested that planting for a year be halted in large areas in order to eliminate the weevil and by following this process for a few years kill the in-| sect out by the starvation process. One objection has been the fear of a shortage of cotton. New cotton land, however, offers a solution to the question of filling the demands of the nation and the reclamation service is doing its best to present the opportunity for planting. Sweet Potato Syrup! Manufacture Urged Wanted—some one to start & sweet potato syrup plant. It's your Uncle Sam who had broadoast that “classified ad.” His speclalists, after much experimenta- | tion, have decided that a very good syrup, for use on the table, for cooking and in the manufacture of such candles as taffy, kisses and caramels, can be made profitably on {2 commercial scale from otherwise | unmarketable crops. Because these sweet potatoes are | | elther overgrown or undersized, or: | because there Is, a larger crop than | the market can absorb there s an- | nually a great economic waste, which Uncle Sam thinks ought to be turned into good, palatable syrup. His specialists have done all the work to prove the scheme entirely practicable and profitable. Plang for a sweet potato syrup plant have been worked up, and all you have to do is take advantage of the opportunity Uncle Sam points out. And, Uncle Sam shows you both | sides of the picture. He tells you | quite frankly that the use of sweet ! potato syrup is limited by its cost of | manufacture as compared with that | of other commonly used syrups, but in any emergency, when the price of sugar and syrup Is greatly increased, it might be possible to manufacture | this syrup profitably and to the ben- ofit of American agriculture. for use In blending with other syrups to prevent orystallization. About a gallon and a half of syrup can be made from a fifty-pound bushel apid growth g this husky industrial 1 It has one strong feature, that it is suitable of sweet potaot surplus, according to two remrs’ experiments. AS A UNION MAN SEES IT By JAMES M. LYNCH. (Former preaident of the Interma- tional_Typographical Unfon; former New York state industrial commix- stomer.) ITH the acceptance of the eight-hour day in substi- tution for the twelve-hour { | | trick in the steel industry | it must not be understood that the shorter day is now universally ac- cepted in the United States and Can ada. It has been difficult to get reli- able data as to its prevalence. That compiled by the federal bureau of 1abor statistics Is quoted, and is per- haps the latest obtainable. Again, the steel Industry, with the substitution of the short for the long trick, will not then be an eight-hour industry. The ten-hour day will still prevail. In a letter to the writer the president of the American Fed- eration of Labor says: “There are some entire industries that are on the eight-hour basis, while In others only a portion of them. As you know, the steel industry cannot yvet be in- cluded in eight-hour Industries. In fact, the reductlon of the twelve-hour day to eight is a misstatement. Ac- cording to the Iron Age, the ten-hour day will prevall. A few employes | here and there will be placed on an eight-hour shift.” It is a fact, however, that with the carrying _out of the pledge that has been made the eight-hour day will be introduced in the steel industry. It the experfence with it is as satis- ! factory to employer and employe as |the testimony of other {ndustries seems to support, it will win its way. It will in the end prevall. Work Day Shortemed. “At the beginning of the nineteenth century men worked almost univer- sally from sun to sun,” say Adams and Sumner in their book entitled “Labor Problems.” “At the present time many important trades work only eight hours a day, and the aver- age working day, excluding agricul- tural and domestic labor, is probably less than ten hours. This great re- form is a distinctive accomplishment of organized labor, and in the past It has met with the indorsement of the disinterested economist as weil as the labor leader himself. Both justify the movement on the grounds that it will giv ethe worker more time for rational amusements, educational, civic and tamily duties, and that this increased leisure will result in a more intelligent, contented and efficlent working population. Both agree. | moreover, that in the long run and within reasonable limits wages are strongly affected by the standard of life, and that a tenaclous refusal to work an excessive number of hours will to a degree remove the necessity ,for it. But here the average econo- mist and the average trade unionist part company. Position of Labor. “The former defends the reduction of hours under present conditions be- cause he believes it will not diminish the product of industry; whereas the labor leader advocates persistent and radical reductlons precisely because he belleves that it will diminish the product per Individual and furnish work for the unemployed. The ldea that a man will produce as much in eight hours as in ten may occasional- 1y be advanced by the labor leaders. but it is not their general position; and even if one does advance it, he is likely to bring forward in the next pa ph ideas that are entirely in- consistent with it. The argument which really carries welght with them is based on the opposite idea. It is that the reduction of hours wil re- duce the supply of labor power on the-market and so will ralse its price | w It will make room for the unemploy- ed. and so will remove the depress- ing Influence of their competition.” | The book was written In 1914, at the time the movement for the eight- hour day had been quite generally successful, and after the writer had been through, as an international offi- | cer, one of the most stubbornly con- | tested industrial battles with the | elght-hour day as its objective. At that time he had fifteen years' experi- | ence In the international labor field. Yet during all of that period he never ! heard any argument for the eight-hour day by iabor men other than it was justifled by the Introduction of labor- Baving machinery; that It was possi- ble to produce In eight hours all that could be consumed, with reasonable surplus, and that it made for a higher standard of living, for better educa- tion, for higher ideals in every way. and therefore for a better citizenship and a better nation in which to live. Above everything, it gave promise of @ better chance in life for the chil- dren of the toflers. Rale of Old Days. One authority says of the efght- hour day that it was the rule In me- dieval England. In 1866 the demand | was formulated in America at & gen- eral workingmen's congress at Balti- more and at other meetings; and the National Labor Union was organized to secure an elght-hour day. A six- week strike in New England and New York attempted to secure it, but fafled. In 1872 eight-hour leagues were formed In various places, and in Connecticut and New York a number of strikes among the woodworking trades won this goal for awhlile, but the great depression from 1873 on prevented pressing guch questions. Since 1880 nearly all the states have enacted eight-hour laws, subject to conditions, usually restricted to work for the state, county and munleipal- ity. The first great concerted effort for elght hours was in 1886, when 200,000 workmen went on strike. A general strike for' this object was announced In 1890, and was partly sueccesll!fl: lkeveras hundred thousand men struc! an many employers ylelded, but later advanced (hephuyurs. In the early part of this century widespread strikes in the bullding trades and the printing Industry were won by the employes. By 1912 it was popularly understood, both in Great Britain and America, that elght hours was & fair day's work, and employers accepted it generally without pres- sure. In 1916 the rallway workers obtained ‘the basic eight-hour day by federal enactment. Abrogated tn Nlinets. In 1895 the Illinols supreme ocourt declared vold an elght-hour law for women on the ground that it unduly limited the freedom of contract. In 1908 the Oregon ten-hour law for women was upheld by the United States Supreme Court, and in 1916 the elght-hour law. In the United States the Natlonal Labor_ Union declared for an eight- hour day in 1866. During the period of 8o many strikes, 1872-1873, “elght- hour leagues” were a prominent fea- ture of the labor disturbances of that time. This principle of limiting the day's work was flercely fought by the manufacturers and other employers, who contended that it was a matter only to be regulated by employer and employe, without outside interference, but_organized labor and its friends contended that the status of the sin- gle, unorganized worker was too weak to enable him to have a voice in regulating an agteement with his employer. It was the first step in “collective bargaining.” An analysis of the elght-hour day in America issued by a statistical bu- reau maintained by certain associa- tions of employers makes this com- parison of the straight and basic eight-hour day: “Increased rates for overtime are obviously designed to als yers from resorting e ent, the provisic related to the problem of health and soclal relaxation. In practice, how- ever, these penal rates have proved an Incentive to overtime work by the employe and thus tend to defeat any desire to promote his health or in- crease his leisure. Therefore, these rates, though ostensibly a penalty on the employer, are in reality a pre- mium to the emplove. So far as such an incentive induces the worker to work a longer day than is justified on the grounds of health, it is clearly warranted only by unusual emer-: gency. 1In such cases overtime is physically undesirable, and overtime rates mean extra compensation for diminished productivity.” Economic Ignorance. Without question it is true that many employes do not realize the value of the shorter workday, or are tempted by the Increased total wage that overtime gives. It is the asser- tion of a tralt of human nature that those who admire it term thrift, and those who oppose it call blind hog- gishness. Then agaln, it may result from the collusion of the employer who cannot accustom himself to ldle machinery with the employe, who places no value on healtn, recreation and education and prefers, as a sub- stitute, long hours of employment. Both are economically {gnorant. The stralght eight-hour day, with overtime as an emergency, and then at a sharply advanced rate of pay, Is enforced as to their members by a number of the international unions, and at least one of these unions re- quires the employment of a substitute worker whenever in a certain period of time the overtime work equals the eight-hour day, or less where the con- tract provides for fewer hours. ! Percentages Compared. The Monthly Labor Review of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department 'of Labor for August, 1922, commenting on a tabular compllation of the regular hours of work per week in the manu- facturing industries of the United States for 1909, 1914 and 1919, says: “As regards the number of employes working each specified number of hours per week in 1919, it will be seen that 4,418,693, or 48.6 per cent of the total of 9,096,372 employes, worked 48 hours per week or less. Of this number, the census report shows that 1,111.107, or 12.2 per cent of the total employes, worked 44 hours per week or less, and 346,179, or 3.8 per cent worked over 44 and under 48 hours per week while 2,961,407, or 32.6 per cent worked 48 hours per week. In comparing the percentages of em- ployes working 48 hours per week and under in the three years, it will be observed that the percentage of such workers was over four times as great in 1919 as in 1914, and over six times as great in 1919 as in 1909." Then in association with the fore- going we have the statement of the president of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, in approval of the eight-hour day, which embraces this declaration: “A factor of added in- terest Is the fact that. with almost capacity operation at our steel plant during he last few months and em- ploying over 6,000 men, we have ex- perienced no shortage of labor. Our operating officials have frequently ex- pressed the bellef that this condition is due, in large part at least, to the adoption of the elght-hour shift.” The_forty-four-hour week, five days of eight hours each and four on Satur- day, is the rule In the building industry. The elght-hour day on the Ameri- can continent falls into three classi- fications: The straight eight-hour day, with overtime prohibited except in emergencies; the division of the twenty-four hours into three shifts and in some Industries extending over even days In the week, and the basic ight-hour day under which overtime is permitted at varying wage rat 6 eight-hour day has with us about the same history as that of ‘the Doglish movement. It has been ac- cepted and found satisfactory by many employers. It has been tried and discarded by still other employ- ers. It has been made effective as to Industries and given continent-wide application by a number of Interna- tional trade unfons, In some Instances through agreement with associations of employer®, and in still other cases only after bitter industrial warfare extending over a long perfod of time. Federal, state and municipal laws require not more than eight hours a day on work for the political division or subdivision,and in many industries for women and children. Some of the states prohibit more than elght hours for men In certaln work. In many industries unorganized wage earners now work not more than elght hours, and this has been brought about by the general agita- tion for the elght-hour day. and the further fact that employers in these industries have found that their busi- ness does not require more than elght hours of the time of thelr employes. Office help is to a great extent on an eight-hour and in many Instances a seven-hour basts. .In a review of the history of the elght-hour movement, one is im- pressed by the steady advance in the tening of the workday from the al eighteen hours of one ! years ago to the standard workday ‘of the present. With the trade unions it has been a long and persistent agitation that has brought eventual success. There was first the education of the workers to the real- ization of the value of the eight-hour day from the standpoint of health and education. There was the fear of the reduction of wages. There were other specters that had to be dissi- pated. And then there was the op- position of employers, overcome in some cases by research and experi- ment on the part of the individual and in other cases by resort by the wage earners to-the strike. The eight-hour day is here, and will receive further impetus by its appli- cation to the work of making steel. The agitation for the elght-hour day has a history of centuries. Tt came into effect because of the vision and the sacrifice of millions who did not live to enjoy it. {Copyright, 1923, by the McClure Newspaper Syndicate.) Packing Saves Costs In Shipping Goods How tremendous savings can be effected by American manufacturers and exporters through careful pack- ing—not only by assuring that the goods will reach their destination in better conditfon, but also In the ac- tual cost of transportation—is shown by E. S. Gregg, chlef of the trans- portation division of the United States bureau of forsign and domes- tic commerce. Ocean rates on both light and bulky articles are based on cubic measurement. Therefore, in packing such articles economy of space should receive prime consideration. As an example of the saving result- ing from economical packing, during the war 22,000 tons of shipping space were saved on a shipment of 6,000 rolling kitchens by the use of a spe- clally designed crate. Likewise, by adopting bales instead of boxes for clothing, blankets, etc, the Army saved approximately $49,000,000 in treight charges alone. —_— “Black Friday” is the name applied to two disastrous days In the finan- cial history of the United States. Fri. day, September 24, 1869, a panic wa caused in Wall street by the effort of Fisk and Gould to corner the gold market, gold rising to 163%; and on Friday, September 19, 1873, occurred in the New York Stock Exchang the great financial crash which was followed by the widespread “panic-of bRty DO YOU FFED UNCLE SAM YOUR MIND? WILL AID YOU 'Free Reading Courses Expected to Help tional S PON what do you feed your mind? In these days, when we hear so much about pure foods, meat Inspection, tuberculin tests for dairy herds and safeguard- ing the water supply. it is well also to consider how the American people may develop & sound mind in a sound body. P Uncle Sam is dolng this through the direction of free reading courses, with the ultlmate purpose of pre serving the American home by get- ting the family together around the library table. There are now seventeen states co- operating with the federal govern- ment’s activities through the bureau of education, and more than 16,000 readors are enrolled in one or more of the twenty-five courses which have been prepared by experts When we stop to consider that In the United States thers are some 78,000,000 persons over ten vears of age who can read In our language or n their native tongue, and that a comparatively small proportion of these can ever further thelr educa- tion after they leave common school by attending institutions or by tak- ing advantage of ocorrespondence courses now offered by extension di- visions of universities, it 1s obvious that a vast fleld of service has been entered. Home Edueation Work. The home education division was established to take up this work in 1913 at the request of the Natlonal Congress of Mothers and Parent- | teacher Associations and who for six |years supported the work. Then | Congress ruled that spectal collabo- {the federal service unless they are |drawing their salaries from state and municipal funds. The federal Eovernment then took over the home | education work, of which the read- {ing courses are the outstanding fea- | ture, and has since given it financial sunport. This work {s along two lines—frst, helping the parents and others in the jhome to further their own educa- { tlon, helping ‘them in the care and {training of their littie children be- {fore they are of ‘school age, helping {the boys and glirls after they have {1eft home to further their edueation: | 8econd. promoting a clos~r co-opera. tion between the home and the echool. vorking through count e endents of education. this fedo ivision has developed an organiza- fon of perators in all parts of the country, { Who have spread the message to the ganize reading circles. ) Seventeen States Co-eperate. | The seventeen states that ars now | co-operating are: Arizona, Arkansas, {Colorado, Hawatl, Indiana, lowa, ! Kentucky, Loutsiana, North Carolina, | North Dakota, Oregon, South Caro- {1ina, Squth Dakota, Utah, Vitginia, { Washington, Wisconsin and Okla- |homa. The Natfonal Capital has not yet organized for co-operation. Miss Ellen C. Lombard, director of home education, who previous to un- dertaking this 'work, was a_school teacher in Boston, as superintendent of practice in the kindergarten train- ing school. a statewide tour of Michigan, during which she addressed six state teach- ers’ association meetings, telling her story of the reading courses and how they develop helpful co-operation be- tween the schools and the homes. As funds are made available she will continue this work In other states. In all but two of the states co-op- erating now the work is carried on through the extension divisions of the state universities. In Oklahoma the reading courses are conducted through the library commission and in Loufstana through the State Nor- mal College. The {dea is to turn the work back to the states as soon as state or- ganizations are ready to co-operate. The federal bureau arouses interest in the reading courses and any In- dividual desiring to take them should apply to the Washington office, which ‘people generally and helped to“or-| | rators must not be connected with this federal | 75.000 men and women co- | has just returned from - Preservation of Home and Educa- tandards. will carry along the work In any and all states until the state institutions are ready to co-operate. Reading Courses Prepared Twenty-five reading coursce have been prepared and sent to prospective readers who have made application These are: “Great Literary Bibles,” “Great Literature—Ancient, Medleval and Modern”; “Miscellaneous Reading Course for Parents,” “Miscellansou Reading Course for Boys,” Miscel laneous Reading Course for Girls, hirty Books of Great Fiction, Thirty World Heroes,” “Americar Literature,” “Thirty American He roes,” “Amerlcan History,” “France and Her History." “Heroes of Amerl can Democrac; The Call of the e Waters amanship),” “Iror and Steel.” “Shipbuilding.” “Machin: Shop ~ Work,” ~ “Forelgn Trade,’ Dante,” “Master Bullders of Today. “Twenty Good Books for griculture and Country Life” “How to Know Architecture, “Citizenship and Government” and “Health.” All of these courses have been pre- pared by speclalists in the various sub fects, fncluding Willlam Lyon Phelps { Yale' University; Richard Burton, Uni- | versity of Minnesota: Alphons: Smith, University of Virginia; Prof. T | N. Carver, Harvard University; Prof 1C. E. Ladd, Cornell University ; Prof. W | . Mace, professor of history. Syracus niversity; Dr. Wilbur F. Gordy, i “cher and author Riic, professor of jand L. University: | Myers, ;rofessor of hi: { University ; Dr. George fessor of ' educational Columbia University, and others eq prominent in the worid of letters | history as authors and educators. Prepared Offered Cournes. For example, the courses on great | literature, great fictlon and Americar literature were prepared by a commit- ! tee conststing of Prof. Willlam Lyon ! Phelps of Yale, Prof. Charles Forster Smith of the University of Wisconsin | Prof. Richard Burton of the University {of Minnesota and Prof. C. Alphonsc Smiith of the University of Virginla | The course on teaching was prepared by | Prof. George D. Strayer of Columbia | University. | “Three of the most popular of th | reading courses were prepared by Mis Mary R. Parkman, herself a writer of ote and_ teacher in the Wilson } 3 choel, Washingto: American Heroe: | Heroes” and day.” These reading courses are of varying length. “Citizenship and, Government comprises twenty books in four sections, | “Master Builders of Today" comprises ! sixteen and “Thirty American Heroes ! comprises thirty !~ Application blanks for enrollmemt ir 1nn_v course are supplied by the Wash. |ington office of any of the co | operating state institutions, on reques: | When a reading course is selected the list of books to be read {s_sent to the applicant, who then writes in, telling when he started reading. As each book is finiehed a summary of it must be sent n. When all the summaries are § a set of test questions is sent to the reader. When these are answered sa‘ isfactorily a certificate signed by ti i ftate superintendent of pub'ic instruc | tion, by the director of extension work in the State university and by the United States commissioner of educatio: is awarded f6F each reading course a: completed. Each course must take no- {more then three years. Edueation Free of Cost. | This ts the only demonstration n th | United States where the people outsld | of institutions destring to further thel education can do So free of charge. | These courses carry no credit featur~ |1n tnstitutions of higher education, b several institutions have given credit b special arrangements to readers aft: they have completed the courses. The United States gov : thus undertaken the work of home e ucation because it recognizes that t} safety of the nation lies in the perpetu: | tion ‘of our home and educaticnal lif | it knows that there must be somethiny to hold the family together, somethin worth while that will “bring tr |around the evening lamp" a5 in older days. These are “Thirty World “Master Builders of To Child Training Urged to Protect Future Against Swindlers in U.S. (Continued from First Pags.) cently met In this oity. It is directly in line with the movement cropping out in many places to put more busi- ness training into curriculums of schools and colleges. And it aims at the early preparation of new text- books on Investment and economic problems for high schools. The need for a more practical edu- cation than is afforded through pure- ly academic courses has prompted, throughout the country, not only the founding of big businéss schools in leading universities, but the innova- tion of stenography and typewriting. aconomics and banking courses, into what had previously been the most “gimon-pure” sort of academic cur- riculums, S The Investment Bankers' Assocla- tion, allve to the necessity of pro- tecting the present public from fraud. and educating the future public in sound principles of Investment, Is heartily in accord with the aims of the National Transportation In- stitute. “Keen men and women con- nected with the institute,” sald an investment banker, “will be specially engaged to secure necessary informa- tion for the education of these youngsters, thereby starting them off correctly on the elementary studies of the investment banking business Attractively Presented. Trausportation and economic prob- lems generally can be so attractively presented, the institute belleves, that juniors in high school will not only grasp the subjects easily in their elementary form, but will be stimu- lated to more intensive study of the subjects. The transportation insti tute's idea of Injecting more business teaching into the high schools is in line with the step taken by some progressive colleges, which have gone 8o far as not only to introduce busi- ness courses, but to divide thelr Stu- dents’ time halfway between school and practical experfence. ‘Among the colleges working on this advanced scheme of education plus experience aré Antioch College, near Dayton, Ohio, and the University of Cincinnati, at Cincinnatl. Each goes on the idea that the student can pre- pare himself more completely by studying part of his time and work- ing at & man-sized job for the rest of it while going to college. At Antioch, for instance, students spend only half time at school and the other half at practical work away from college, in periods of five weeks. Each job is held by two students who alternate with each other. Vice President Roberts of the Na- tional Clty Bank of New York, in a recent discussion of the merits of the Antioch plan, described with some enthusiasm the workings of the sys- tem. Have Own Businesses. “Some students have businesses of their own, being storekeepers, .con- tractors, or (nsurance agents,” he said. “Others work in banks, fac- tories, stores and offices, with about sevanty-five irm® The student learns | rosponstbtitey. Perhape for the are time In his life_he must make goo |on a real job. He learns how to ge lon with people, how much effort ! | required to accomplish his purpose: how unexpected problems arise | practice that never appeared in te: books. In short, he serves an | prenticeship with real life. His wor is varfed so that he can have exper. ence with different phases of corr merce and Industry. “Though the students largely suj port themselves, the money saved | not so important as the training i responsibility, in self-reltance, In i itlative, and In the discovery an: development of thelr other person: | powers." | " Neither does Antloch lose sight « the value of Itberal education in cor nection with the practical training. “The Antfoch program,” explaine | Mr. Roberts, “looks first to develo |ing tn young men and women tho! 1 qualities and abilities which are ur versally desirable, regardless of th calling one s to follow. Thus th | physical development of the stud to a point where he or she is and able to stand the stres: |modern life is made a matter of firs importance. The essentials of a lib eral collegs educatfon are demanded of evew student, so that he will be not simply a producing machine, but will have the breeding and cultura! background that will make him a: all-round citizen and an acceptabi associate for men and women of ver satile interests.’” Summarizing, cludes: “To give our future exec tives the essentials of a llberal edu cation, while bringing to them knowledge of the present highly de veloped technique of business ad ministration, and at the same tim giving them apprenticeship on re jobs, 1s worth the flve or six years required for the Antloch course.” World Timber Supply Is Steadily Exhausted i The United States cannot depend upon the forests of other countries Mr. Roberts to augment its own timber supply be- cause the world's timber resources are being steadily exhausted, forest economists for the United States De vartment of Agriculture warn. The world's requirements of sav timber will double within the nex fifty years, these economlists say, i the rate of increase during the pas few yvears is maintained. They hav. Just completed a comprehensive stud of the world's timber resources whic is being published in book form. to only two-thirds of the amount ot total supply I« shrink- wood consumed the v'.mquas(lnnahly continually ng. "¥The most pressing forest problen: from a world-wide standpoint,” the forest economists say, “is the neces sity of providing adeguate future supplies of soft wood timber "