Evening Star Newspaper, December 28, 1924, Page 33

EDITOIAL PAGE NATIONAL PROBLEMS SPECIAL ARTICLES Part 2—14 Pages 1924 BEST POST-WAR YEAR, BUT 1925 HO LDS DANGERS 'Réturning Strength Threatens to Re- awaken Rivalries—Elections Help Mightily to Bring Permanent Peace. BY FRANK H. SIMONDS. HE vear which is just ending must be reckoned the first in the long and desperate suc- cession since the outbreak of the World War itself which has seen unmistakable evidence of the decision of the various nations of the European continent return to the pre-war period of peace. Just as 1923 was the year of the Ruhr war and must be remembered in the fu- ture as a time of great crisis and grave apprehension, 1924 will hereafter be recalled as the year of the Dawes plan and the period of general improve- ment That improvement which character- izes the closing twelve months, move- over, has been marked by a ser of elections which have been its most striking political circumstance. <Counting the British election of I cember, 1923, the resaits of which were really to be felt only in the following January, there have been a series of national referendums which serve as a surprising barometer of the state of the public minds in many a country MacDonald’s Work Hafled. To look at these elections for a moment: It w the British elec- tion of just a year ago, which sud- denly transformed the whole face of British politics by transfering the control of foreign relations to a man who not only had not been con- cerned either in the war or post- war cabinets, but had opposed the war itself. Thus ~ Ramsay MacDonald brought a new and an unexhausted state of mind to the international situation. And to his influence at home and abroad was due, almost immediately, the improvement of Anglo-French relations: Four months later an election in France produced a similar overturn. Poincare, the man of the Ruhr, was overthrown, together with the Na- tional bloc, and France, like Britain, passed to the control of men with different views vpon international problems. Thus Herriot, in Paris, and MacDonald, in London, were Within a short time able to bridge the gulf which had opened between France and Britain, and Ly Midsum- mer the heads of the two govern- ments were apggoaching the discus- £ion of the great question with a mutual confidence and understand- ing which had been lacking in Anglo- French relations since the Parls con- ference which made peace. Just preceding the French election came the German. On the surface the result was unpromising; the Weimar bloc, the three parties which had steadily supported the republic— the Social Democrats, the Clericals and the Democrats—were overtaken by a disastrous defeat. This defeat was _itself a direct consequence of the Ruhr invasion, for Germany last Pring voted under the influence of that bitter experience and in the mood of hopelessness and resentment. As a consequence the gains were made by the Communists and the Extreme Nationalists and the repub- lic seemed in danger. Change in Attitude. Yet the double circumstance, the triumph of the liberal parties in ¥rance and Britain and of the re- actionaries in Germany, served its useful purpose, for in the presence of German reaction nothing was more natural than that the Liberal cab- inets of France and Britain should draw. together, and, as was to be ex- pected, the association of France and Jiritain in common views and com- mon action left German reaction with | no remedy. By Midsummer, then, the stagefwas set for the London conference, the most Important single international wathering since the making of peace. The Dawes committee, working with- ©out political interference, had ar- rived at jts It was mani- Tvst that these decislons were to be ‘cepted by France and by Britain, it s even plain that American official interest was engaged and that Ger- 1any was now to be confronted with A reunited combination of powers reed upon a policy and prepared to bport this policy, But it was not less clear that Ger- ny. summoned to a new interna- tional conference, was to be received not as a helpless vanquished nation upon which were to be served decis- tons which could not even be dis- cussed, but, by contrast, Germany \ids to be permitted to share in dis- cussions which were directed at a PrOgram of adjustment which fin detail advantaged her position nditioning the whole problem ot reparations upon the restoration of German finance and adjusting future payments to unquestioned capacity to Politician Leaves Scene. In reality, the conference of London marked the retirement of the poli- tician from the scene; indeed, it was measurably the elimination of all the <ircumstances of war. For the Dawes vlan, as it was finally modified and ccepted at the London conference, represented no more than,the appM- vation to the German problem of the principles of business and of finance. The discussion was between creditors and a debtor whose present capacity pay was slight, whose ultimate capacity to pay could not be me: ured. Thus the conquerors of Germany sccepted the principle that German restoration must precede German payment and German restoration. must include the return to Germany of her industrial machinery, the evac- uation of the Ruhr, first as to ex- ploitation, then as to garrisoning. In ihe same sense a System of future rman payments was made conti zent upon the restoration of Ger- man currency by loans coming from the nations which were entitled to reparations. 1t was clear from the outset that the ultimate success of the Dawes plan would be problematical, - that, in reality, it was not a solution of the vast problem of reparations, that it was at best no more than a method. But what the Dawes plan immediate- v proved itself to be was a bridge Detween Kurope at war and Europe at peace. Over this bridge could pass the nations which, a few months Defore, had been on the edge of the abyss of a new struggle, Peace Demand Grows. One may question whether the _statesmen of any one of the three nations directly concerned, France, Germany or Britain, believed or now believe in the Dawes plan as a final solution, as the last word, perhaps even as a permanently workable affair. But what was the fact in Midsummer was that the statesmen of all three nations believed in peace, zreed in the nced of ending the war, which despite treaties of peace and y international conferences without number had endured from August 1, 1914, to the same date in 1924. After the London conference came Geneva and once more there was dis- closed, this time for the wholg con- tinent, the same demand for 'peace, the same spirit of reasonableness and accord which marked the London conference. Out of this session, to be sure, emerged the protocol which has already awakened the profound- est disquiet in Great Britain and must be regarded as totally unlikel to find acceptance there, save in greatly modified form. i Yet even this Geneva meeting the protocol were valuable, as resulted in the formulation of continental as contrasted with the British view of the maintenance of peace. Once for all with utmost clar- ity the fact was demonstrated that not France alone, but every conti- nental nation Insists that all discus- sion of disarmament shall be pre- ceded by a definite solution of the problem of security. The protocol was a proot that the British—and Ameri- can—notion that disarmament can be made the unconditional means of in- suring peace was utterly fallacious and that neither nation could press for disarmament without undertaking specific responsibilities in the shape of guarantees. 1925 Less Promising. This clash of primary conceptions had existed ever since the Paris con- ference, it had been responsible for the failure of all the various efforts at limitation of land armaments from that moment. But not until this latest Geneva experience was the fact made clear that there was not the smallest chance of imposing the insular view upon the continental mind. As a con- sequence the conference to discuss the limitation of armaments has been adjourned and seems likely In the end to be abandoned, since one set of natlons refuses to lay down their arms in the face of dangers, save as they are promised security against these dangers, while the other set de- clines to accept the risks incident to iving such guarantees. ® Geneva, in a sense, marks the high point in the year's history. On the whole the surface of things, so tran- %quil then, has been roughening again and, just as one can say eccurately that 1924 was the best year since the war, one must also say that the out- look for 1925 is far less promising. In the first place, the British election of October suddenly broke the An- glo-French entente, which was in reality the understanding and friend- ship between Herriot and MacDonald, by throwing the and thus undermining the position of the former, whose fall is imminent. Between Britain and France there are unmistakable signs of the arrival of new misunderstandings. The ques- tion of the French debt, opened in Washington in its American phase, has produced repercussions in London wifich hold out at least a threat of disagreement in the Paris discussions a and they the which begin in January. Even more | serlous is the problem of North Af- rica raised by the evacuation of ths RIff by the Spanish, which opens the way to a French advance to the shores of the Stralts of Gibraltar, where British feeling is most sensi- tive. Egyptian Affair Significant. The Egyptian affair, momentarily banished from the news, remains portent of very evil significance, not alone for the British in Egypt, but for the French in Tunis and the Ital- fans in Tripoll. In fact, one must ap- preciate the extent to which the Turkish triumph over Europe, as registered in the treaty of Lausanne, has_shaken the prestige of all the Mediterranean powers and endanger- ed European rules from Bagdad to Tangler. Again, in the Egyptian epl- sode one sees again the working of that principle of self-determination accepted at <he Paris peace confer- ence for European nations, but now invoked by all subject native races from Manila to Moroceo Ci Thus men are asking themselves the world over if the year which will be memorable for having seen the first | long step taken toward the liquida- tion of the latest European struggle may not be in the end yet more to be remembered as having witnessed the first concrete evidence of the coming of a new struggle, the revoit of the Near East and the Far East, of western and southern Asia and northern Africa against the white man’s rule. And this problem is ter- ribly complicated by the fact that on the edge of the disturbed regions and within communicating distance of the aroused races stands the great mass of Soviet Russia, hostile as ever to the western nations. As a direct menace to European institutions Russia has manifestly continued to decline. The slow but sure process of economic rehablilita- tion in all the border states, like the swifter recovery of Germany, has ended the chance that misery and desperation might throw other peoples into the same chaos which mastered Russia nearly elght years ago. The latest British election is but one of many evidences of the destructive - effect upon any lberal or radical movement of the mere suggestion of Russian influence. In America the same feeling was one of the factors in producing the re- sults of our recent election. Danger In Russia. But there remains the other dariger, the single danger for the world which Russia now constitutes, name- ly, the possibility of its operations through India, Mesopotamia, Egypt and North Africa, where its agents have beon discovered fomenting re- volt, preaching assassination and generally exploiting unrest. If one conceives that the present disturb- ances in many portions of the Near and even the Far East represent un- settlement, then it is plain that bol- shevism, repulsed in direct attack, remains dangerous because of its capacity and opportunity to strike indirectly. 1t one turns from the examination of general affairs to the survey. of national circumstances it is plain that Great Britain, after a brief but enormously important interlude of Labor rule, has turned to the Tory party and by an enormous majority given to the Conservatives a control likely to be continued for at least four years and to be characterized by vigorous and sustained efforts to restore British economic health at home and reconstruct British pres- tige abroad and particularly In the colonies. The war posed once more the great question of whether the British Em- pire could endure and be consolidated into & permanent whole. The new cabinet which has just taken power (Continued on Thirteenth PRge.) A 24 latter out of office | A EDITORIAL SECTION - @The Sund ay Staf WASHINGTON, D. C., SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 28, 1924. Outlook for American Labor Federation | With Green, Instead of Gompers, at Helm BY DAN S, RING. N era of progress is foreseen in the offing for the American Federation of Labor by close observers of the tides and cur- rents of the organized labor movement, but there are also signs of squalls gathering on -the horizon which will have to be met and con- quered before the annual convention of the federation next Fall, it Wil- liam Green, the newly elected presi- dent, is to retain his position. Green brings to the presidency of the American Federation of Labor not only virility and experience on a broad scale, but also comparatively voung blood. Although 51 years of age, he is quick moving and aggres- sive, yet not without the deliberate method of figuring out puzzles and problems which was a characteristic of the late Samuel Gompers. * K ok ok t only in the ranks of organized labor has he held positions of execu- tive scope, but also in the outer world. In Ohio, his native State, he was president of the State Senate during one of the two terms he spent in that legislative body. He there acquired a broader view than had he been ob- serving events only from the position of a-labor leader during his perfod of activities. Well fitted for the tasks before him, therefore, Green steps Into office to find a number of problems already | Popping up their heads. Among his {chief items of consideration will be the threatened coalition of rebels in | the ranks of the American Federation of Labor—whom Gompers called the “‘borers from within"—and the potential threat of an attempt of this group to sweep to power in the next convention. Gompers' steady hand will not be there to hold such movements in check. This will be the task of Green. The latter is an avowed anti-Com- munist. A firm bellever in the doc- trines of Americanism, his very first statement, issued upon attaining his ofice, demonstrated his attitude on this question. “Our devotion to America and American institutions must never be successfully chal- lenged,” he said. AR “Organization and education™ be watchwords under the regime of Green. Four cardinal principles, as he has announced them, are: Pro- { motion of collective bargaining; ob- ervance of wage agreements; the | continuance of the movement for the acceptance of organized labor by all classes as a logical, necessary moral force in the economic, industrial and soclal life of the Natlon, and continual reiteration of the duties and obliga- tions of organized labor members as American citizens. “Our problems must be met and {solved upon the basls of American | fair play and in accordance with American traditions and American ideals,” Mr. Green declared shortly will BY HENRY L. SWEINHART. HE year 1924 has been marked by a general movement for- ward, both in political and economic lines, among the re- publics of the Western Hemis- phere. Despite several slight defec- tions, the year on the whole has been one of progress and of rising pros- | perity among the 21 American repub- | lics. Outstanding among the events of the year in the Latin American world and In the relations between the | United States and the other member inations of the Pan-American Union have been the following: 1. The submission by Chile and i Peru to the President of the United States of their final documents In the | arbitration proceedings in the Tacna- | Arica case. The two governments concluded their arguments and pre- sented them to President Coolidge, through Secretary of State Hughes, April 12 last. This important inter- national problem is now in the hands of the President of the United States awaiting his award—his decision as arbiter—which is expected in the near future, some time in the early part of 1925. While no offical announcement has been made, it is believed that this eagerly awaited decision may be given within the first two or ‘thres months of the coming year, probably before March 4, when the present term of the administration comes to an end. Peaceful Elections Significant. 2. The holding of peaceful elections both in Mexico and Cuba and the auspicious inauguration into office De- cember 1 of Gen. Plutarco Elias Calles as President of the former republic. The newly elected President of Cuba will not assume office until next May, but the successful culmination of the elections there without any unusual disturbance is looked on as marking a distinct advance for republican in- stitutions and for free and fair elec- tions. The era of revolution which prevailed for some years in both of these countries seems to have been superceded by an era of peaceful progress. Honduras, in Central America, has not fared so well during the past.year, and for a considerable part of the time carried on a destruc- tive civil warfare, which resulted from the inability of the Honduran political factions after a three- cornered fight to reach an agreement in regard to the presidency. 3. The withdrawal of the United States marines from the Dominican Republic, after they had been sta- tioned there for almost eight years, and the inauguration of a new con- stitutional gbvernment there was the fulfillment of a promise which had been made by the Government of the United States that it would evacuate the republic as soon as a stable gov- ernment had been set up there. This having been accomplished and the constitutionally elected President hav- ing been inducted into office, the American flag was lowered and the marines salled for various home posts. Nothing which the American Govern- ment has done years past, it has been authoritatively statéd, has helped more to improve its international re- lations with the other American re- publics than the official declaration that the Americal military occu- pancy, which had aroused consider- able criticism in some quarters, was about to come-to an end.- The decla- “ration was soon followed by the fac! "American KEYSTONS VIEW. & WILLIAM GRE! after his election. This has a dual significance, displaying as it does that he recognizes that problems are con- tronting him, but that he is not los- ing sight of the need for conservative treatment. . * Xk Xk % The fact that Green is personally a proponent of prohibition and a total abstainer has given rise to wide- spread speculation as to the future stand of the American Federation of PAN-AMERICAN AFFAIRS MOVE FORWARD IN 1924 VWith Few Exceptions Relations of Na tions Show Progress During Year Now Closing. and the Dominican Republic Is once more a self-governed nation. 4. The change of government in Chile and the departure from the country of President Alessandr! was one of the most striking events of the year in Latin America. The alarm which was first felt in the outside world when word was flashed abroad that the President of Chile had re- signed and had sought asylum with Ambassador Collier in the American embassy at Santiago was not fully justified by later events. The first fear was that this act might mark the beginning of a costly revolution, but when the peaceful character of the change and the real motives which had brought it about became known the unrest subsided. In spite of the fact that there was some de- parture from constitutional lines, it was soon realized by the outside world, most of which promptly recog- nized the new government in Chile, that there had be¥n nothing in the nature of a real revolution; that the reforms In the constitution which seemed to be necessary apparently met with general popular support, and that the political and constitu- tional changes which were expected to result would work to the benefit of Chile, to greater stability of her constitutional government and to her economic Improvement also. There- fore it was largely as a matter of form, because of the necessity of maintaining a position which she had taken in regard to the recognition of other new governments set up by unconstitutional means, that the United States delayed immediate recognition of the new government in Chile. In the meantime, however, the most friendly informal relations have been maintained. Panama Canal Anniversary. 5. The tenth anniversary of the opening of the Panama Canal, although it was not marked by any particular ceremony, was' an event of more than passing moment in the year's records. The Panama Canal was thrown open to the commerce of the world in August, 1914. The decade was marked by an almost steady .growth, broken to some ex- tent by the coming of the World War, in the amount of the commerce passing through the waterway. The past fiscal year witnessed by far the greatest increase in the commercial activities of the canal, approximately one-fourth of the tonnage, as well as one-fourth of the tolls for the entire 10-year period, going to the credit of the fiscal year 1924 Many other events of the year, In- cluding the holding of many pan- American and other international con- gresses, might be mentioned. In no previous year have S0 many pan- gatherings been held. Practically all of those held this year have been beneficial from an interna- tional point of view, having permitted helpful exchanges of imformation and opinion and having accomplished defi- nite and practical results. These con- ferences, it is belleved, afe alding in the development of the true pan- Americanism. Reviewing the year 1924 as a whole, 1€ can be truthfully said that.in Latin America it has been marked on the whole by definite progress, by ad- vances in political and economic lines and by a feeling of greater good will and better relations among all pan- American natafons. ACoprright, 1924) | Labor on the question of light wines and beers, which was so decidedly fa- vored by the Gompers administration. There is no avoldance of the fact that there is in the ranks of the or- ganized labor movement a sizable group who are definite devotees of legislation for modifying the eight- eenth amendment. From the stand the federation has officially faken in the_past it has come to be taken for granted that this group is a majority NAPOLEON AND WILSON | SEEN IN EGYPTS FIGHT Thrilling Thread of Tradition Runs Through Story of Struggle for ! Ancient Land’s Freedom. BY CONSTANTINE A. CHEKREZIL, Former Commissioner of Albanis to the United States. T is & far cry from Napoleon to ‘Woodrow Wilson, more especially where Egypt is concerned. And if the Moslem-sounding name of Mehmed All is to be linked with that of the overlord of Europe and of the preacher of mankind the com- binatfon might seem more baffiing than the hieroglyphics of the Rosetta Stons appeared to Bonaparte's sol- diers. But fate has a trick of weaving together the invistble threads of the acts of men, widely separated though they be from one another, both in time and space, in order to produce soms of its startling effects. The fact is that the crisis which Great Britain is'facing now in Egypt is the combined work of the Corsican, Napoleon Bonaparte; the Albanian, | Mahmed All, and the Scotch-Irish ‘Wbodrow Wilson. . Of the three men the first started Egypt on the.way to a new destiny; theisecond gulded her in the way of separate existence; the third breathed the hope of emancipation from for- eign jcontrol into the breasts of her people. Combined Work Reaches Climax. The combined work of these three men\ of genius reached its final con- summaion in 1922, when Great Brit- ain wasyforced to proclaim the Land of the raohs an “Independent sov- ereign sgtate,” under .the rule of a direct descendant of Mehmed All. Andjity was because the British- given ipdependence falled to measure up to the |aspirations which Napeleon made possible, Mehmed Ali cultivated and Wils gave substance so that the Egyptfans rose up again to com- plete the .work of their -national emancipation. The story goes back to the closing days of the French Revolution, to the year 1798, It was the itime when the panic- stricken Tories. of England were com- bining the continental powet of Eu- rope against France in an effort to put out the fire' of republicanism that . was . sweeping . the continent; wheén the ragged soldiers of the Di- rectory were marching boldly under the strains of thelr comrade, Rouget de Lisle's “La Marseillaise,” against the united enemfes of. the .republic; when the youthful Corsican was ru- minating plans of conquest for France—and himself—In his restless mind, J Napoleon's Trxing Fights. The Little Corpotal had just returned from “his_brilliant Itallan campaign. The crushing defeat he inflicted on Austria -broke up the. first. English- made coalition. But. the Torles were forming a new one, and the British men-of-war were a constant menace to the safety of the republic and a check to his own ambitions. “Go capture the gianfl corsair that infests the seas!” cried-Bidrras, the di- rector, when the -youthful general suggested that the way ‘to break Eng- land was to deprive her of. the wealth she’ derived from her Indln empire. And -Napoleon conceived-the plan of conquering India via the preliminary conquest of Egypt, then as province of the Turkish empire. To be sure, the mediocre directors were only too glad to have him go em some * distant and ‘ risky- enterprise. group. And now comes the question, first, is it a majority group? And, second, if so, what will be Green’s stand on the question as an officer of the federation? Those who know him well say that he will let none of his personal con- victions hinder him in carrying out the lawful commands of an organiza- tion of which he is an officer and an agent. He regards the tenure of office in an organization as an osten- sible agency and the officer as a mouthplece for followers in every- thing that is lawful, Just and proper. At the same time, however, it is pointed out, he recognizes that an officer must assume the status of a leader, that he must be a trail-blazer as well as a servant to the desires of the organization which he represents. Leaving the settlement of this prob- lem for the future to decide, it must, nevertheless, not be overlooked as one of the problems. *x * ¥ ¥ Another rather ticklish question is one which embraces a triangular re- lationship of the American Federation of Labor, the United Mine Workers of America, of which Mr. Green is sec- Tetary, and the railroad brotherhoods. The brotherhoods control coal mine; near Charleston, W. Va. The miners working in them are on strike for better wages and better working con- ditions. The employers of the miners, strangely enough, are employes of the raflroads, And organized labor in one group is striking against organ- ized labor in another group. The Federation of Labor stepped into this picture at its last convention in El Paso. A resolution was adopted on the floor which authorized the execu- tive council of the A. F. of L. to take action as it might deem fit to bring| about a peaceable solution of the dis- | pute. The executive council, under this authority, authorized and directed the president of the A. F. of L., then Mr. Gompers, to mest Warren 8. Stone, chief of the Brotherhood of Locomo- tive Engineers, and the president of the corporation controlling the mines for fhe brotherhoods, and talk the matter over. The instructions to Mr. Gompers were to ask Stone to recant on some of the stands taken by him. Before Mr. Gompers could do so death had overtaken him. This leaves Willlam Green, presi-| dent of the federation but also an official of the Miners' International Union, in a rather difficult position should the plan originally decided upon by the executive council not be modified. Modification is looked for at the quarterly sesslon of the executive council in Miami late in February, and in all probability some other measurs will be substi- tuted, such as sending a committee of the executive council members to interview Mr. Stone. EE o For years it has been said in labor circles that when another man than (Continued on Third Page.) Their mediocrity was becoming more and more apparent in the full glare of Bonaparte's triumphs. And Na- poleon was anxfous to go in order to come back as Caesar had come back | from Gaul. The conquest of Egypt end India would have been the step- ving stone to—he knew only what. So oft he sailed for Egypt with 35,000 men. By the good fortune that at- tended his every enterprise at that time he evaded the English fleet, which was waylaying for him. | Arrival at Alexandria. He arrived at Alexandria, the monu- ment which another youthful world- conqueror, the Macedonian Alexander, erected for himself following his whirlwind campaigns in Asia and Af- rica. A safe landing was effected on the very shores where Pompey the Great, Caesar and Marc Antony had successfully set their foot to conquer Cleopatra's realms only to be succe: sively conquered by her charms. The valor of his soldlers made short work of the resistance of the Mame- dukes, the Mohammedan rulers who were misgoverning Egypt In the name of the Sultan of Constentinople. “Soldlers,” Napoleon's proclamation rung, referring to the Pyramids, un- der which he was camping, “23 generations of human history are looking down upon you.” ® ¢ ® But the memory of the 23 preceding generations was dim and blurred. The Egyptians themselves were wellnigh insensible to the past glories of their land. They were sinking deeper and deeper in the mire of abject slavery at the hands of brutal and rapacious agents of the Turkish Sultan. Napoleon's intervention, however, rent Egypt asunder from Turkey. Unwittingly, he headed her toward-a new destiny. Whimslical fate attended to the rest. Mehmed Alf Arises. Among the men the Turkish Sultan was mustering to repel Napoleon's in- vasion of Egypt was a young Alba- nian, born in the same year as Na- poleon (1769), by the name of Meh- med All. Love of reckless adventure induced him to join the happy-go- lucky irregulars, among whom he held the grade of lleutuenant. And while the Albanian soldler of fortune was on his way to Egypt Na- poleon was beginning to experience the first adversities of fortune. His fleet was destroyed in the battle of the Nile by Admiral Nelson, and the intended conqueror of India was shut in as in a mouse trap. “We are condemned to do something great!” he exclaimed on hearing the news of the annihilation of his fleet. He did dg something great, but it was not what he had intended. Presently, news reached him from France that used him to escape on one of his remaining frigates homeward—there to become first consul and then em- peror—leaving behind the army to Gen. Kleber and Egypt to the oncom- ing Mehmed All Discovery of Rosetta Stone. Yet Bonaparte's Egyptian expedi- tion was destined to have some other far-reaching consequences. It was while his forces were condemned to idleness that the first step was thrown toward the solution of the riddle of hieroglyphics. One day a French officer, much bored by the dreary life of his fortress on the Rosetta River, was spending a few {dle hours rum- (Continucd vn Third Page.) EUROPE SEES WISDOM - OF WIDER CO-OPERATION Nationalistic Tendencies'Tempered by Labor and Socialistic Regimes Fur- thering Common Progress. BY OLIVER OWEN KUHN, UROPE Is beginning to pull her- self from the muck and mire of the World ‘War. Since the greatest of all military strug- gles ended Europe has flound- ered and in such fashion as to give ground for the belief that it would be a decade before there could be orderly advance. But the year 1924 has witnessed tremendous changes in the political, social and economic fabric of the old worldi—and in the mafn, for the better. There aro reasons for the belief that the year just drawing to an end will be looked back upon as the groatest single period of advance, the most notable in the remarshaliing of the forces of peace and abandonment of the theoretical panaceas. In centuries gone by nations par- ticipating in warfare have suffered from long ‘perlods of anxiety, doubt in existing forms of government and general chaos. Inasmuch as prac- tically all of the nations of the world joined in the world struggle, na- turally it has been a survival of the fittest in recent years, each caring for individual restoration, but all eventually being finally forced to con- sider the interests of the others, even those of the enemy, in recognition of the fact that only in preservation of common weal can there be prolonged rehabilitative processes. Change From Nationalism. After the war ended, even in the Paris peace conference, one witnessed nationalism rampant even to the ex- clusion of those bigger and broader fdeals 50 eloquently championed dur- ing the period of the struggle. In some instances this natfonalism threatened to undo all that had been accomplished in protection and fur- therance of the cause of democratic government. Among wartime friends there sprung’ up determined rivalry in seizing diplomatic advantage on the continent. Everywhere was there firm efforts to politically “dig in" to insure preponderent diplomatic in- fluence among the smaller nations, all with the general idea of perpetuating the best interests of larger countries. Conference after conference be- tween premiers and high statesmen of varfous nations designed to obtain agreements destined to set "Europe's house in order were wrecked upon the rocks of political expediency. The suspicion that marked diplomatio and governmental endeavor before the war was even heightened after the truggle ended. And this between friends. Antipathies between one-time friends and foes that naturally might be ex- pected to end in the interest of gen- eral economic and financlal recovery among all nations ere heightened. Jealousy ruled in the foreign offices. Faith was stricken from lexicons of these statesmen considering partici- pating in international councils. To the unsophisticated each nation ap- parently was extending the right hand of fellowship to others, while as a matter of fact cudgels were hidden behind the back. Change in Attitade. A8 has been the case in all Interna- tional relationships, thers had to be alteration of policy on the part of one or more nations before there could be reached any common ground of un- derstanding. Lloyd George did not weaken from his own peculiar view- point of what Europe needed, and what England needed was considered best for the others, too. In further- ing his own peculiar panaceas he en- countered the firm wills of Premiers Briand and Poincare of France. The first was willlng to meet England half way, the latter wanted England to play -exolusively in France's back yard. Lloyd George disappeared from the scene and there came Baldwin. Baldwin was adamant to the beguile- ments of Poincare and certainly took advanced ground against the peculiar notlons of the French premier, whose Ruhr adventure brought Europe close to a breach giving every prospect of lasting for decades. Most certainly did his efforts set in motion a tre- mendous struggle for diplomatic and political domination of Europe. Poincare and Baldwin remained firm in theirpositions in regard to Euro- pean settlements, notwithstanding perfunctory efforts to make it appear that England and France were to con- tinue to work together. England saw France's political and military pres- tige growing. France llkewise felt satisfled in this, but in one respect— what the world thought of her ef- forts—there was disillusionment in the Poincare theses of nationalistic might. As the upshot of the failure of various allied statesmen to agree and the absolute demand of the people of the continent that the impasse should be ended and something real be done to bring peace and settled order again, the governments of both Baldwin and Poincare eventually were over- thrown. Rise of the Liberals. The Socialistic and Labor movements in Burope had gained strength dur- ing the period of general dissatisfac- tion with economic and financial con- ditions, all attributable to the failure of varlous governments to make com- mon cause in stabilizing conditlons generally. At the time Baldwin step- Ped down and Poincare was forced to glve up the reins of government, the Socialist and Labor elements formed the chief opposition to the French and English governments. Naturally they were called upon to step into power and see what they could do in the practical application of their theories. Ramsay MacDonald went to 10 Down- ing street. Herriot later went to the Quai @'Orsay to act not only as pre- mier, but foreign minister. These two 0ld political buddies immediately considered what might be done were they to co-operate. The misunder- standings of previous governments were wiped out with a. few pipefuls and a few slaps on the back. The policies of France and England were brought more in attune. Herriot, after conference with MacDonald, agreed to desist in provocating, even though possibly just, attempts to further harass Germany in the Ruhr. During the period of co-operation the Dawes plan for the refinancing and economic rehabilitation of Germany was drawn up and adopted. The aliles approach- ed Germany with a spirit of under- standing and desire to be of real as- sistance in bringing about settled conditions within Germany. The government of Chancellor Marx was receptive. With the clearing away of mis- understandings between England and France and subsequently with Ger- many and with practical application of the Dawes plan, insuring repara- tions payments and eventual fulfill- ment of the treaty of Versallles, came the outstanding events of the vear. Most certainly they have done more fo initiate an era of yehabilitas tive processes than any things that have been accomplished since the war. Governments at last were giv- ing expression to the hopes and wish- €s of thelr people, something that had not always been true since the war ended. The fires of hope were kindled anew in the breasts of those millions who had almost ceased to expect anything tending toward the lightening of their dally burdens or lessening the load of the generatlons to follow them. ‘Work to Curtail Armies. During this period steps were in- itiated looking toward curtaflment of the world’s great military forces through the League of Nations. A protocol calling for reduction of arms with adequate safeguards for all signatories was effected. It matters little that since there have been ef- forts to disembowel potential agree- ments in this regard. The fact that the movement has taken definite form eventually will bear fruit, whether it be next year, the next or the next The protocol was chiefly important committing various European gov- ernments to the actual need of redu: ing great armaments all contribu- tory factors to the tremendous fin: clal and economic burdens of th people in all nations. With such co mitments the attention of variou peoples has been focused on the idea. Eventually the world will see realization of a eunited agreement limiting armaments and settlements of the world's disputes through the means of arbitration and without bloodshed. Next vear will see even greater strides toward realization of this desired goal, and the starting point, Initiated by the Labor an Socialist premlers of France and England, must be recognized as one of the great moments of the vear. As a result of the turn of political whirligigs, Europe witnessed aban- donment of the old conservative ideas of diplomacy and statecraft throug Labor and Socialist governments. Dur- ing the period of their greatest power, when both English and French gov- ernments were at the point of their closest co-operatio; Europe saw definite drifts toward desired goals As long as they remained in well charted pathways all was well. But the moment Premier MacDonald of England departed from them in re- gard to Prussia, and it appeared that he was taking the soviets of Russia to his bosom, the people of England arose and reseated a Conservative government, again headed by Stanley Baldwin. Premier Herriot remains at the moment the head of the French state, but definite tides have set in against him, and it is confidently ex- pected that he, too, will be retired within the next six months. Conservatism Again Rules. The cause of more is ruling servatism that the generous h: of Labor and clalistics regimes. Had Conservatives and extreme Nationalists continued to hold power without interruption there is extreme doubt that France and England would be co-operating as they are. The advent of more liberal reglmes with subsequent efforts fc unity fn the common cause of cor tinental rehabilitation worked its charm. The Conservative governmer of England today is doing little else than seizing the advantages gained by the MacDonald regime, and in dealing with Herriot of France has expressed desire to perpetuate the accords heightened when MacDonald was in power. Only one thing have the Conservatives of England hin- dered rather than helped to furthe and that is the adoption and exter sion of the Geneva protocol upon di armament. Curtailment of military forces is approached conservatively but in every other respect, particu- larly rapprochements with Germany all designed to further German ad vance in the interest of general wel fare, the Conservatives have taken torward look. National Interests have not bes abandoned by any government, but actions have been taken with eve sir gle to general restorative proces as well. All nations of Europe have made ac vances in every respect during tl past year, but individual advanc: have been predicated upon decis that only in general progress of continent can strictly national terest be enhanced With this principle more and mor recognized, and with various govern- ments more and more intent upon furthering understanding and safe guards against disintegrating infl: ences, there is no reason to believ that the good works of the past yea: will be dissipated. conservatism Europe, but a con- en tempered by once he ne the Air Flivver Not Here Yet, Says Professor England has just held a competition for light airplanes, and the display has not done anything to encourage the hope of an era of cheap airplanes for everybody. The Henry Ford of air travel has not yet made his ap- pearance. “The small-powered air- plane” says Prof. A. M. Low, an official of the competition, is noisy very dirty, very uncomfortable, d cldediy dangerous and exceedingly unreliable.” In place of being a ma chine which anvbody can handle, it can be operated with any considerable degree of safety only by very care- | tully trained ana skillea pilots. Of 18 planes entered for the Britich con- test, only eight survived the qualify ing tests, though, as Prof. Low save. “there are not many people who have @ quick flying sense, and the gym- nastic ability characteristic® of the picked men who handled the ma- | chines in this competition.” After all it may be questioned whether the world has anything to gain from the invention of a plane which would fill the air with adventurous flyers at an cxpense no greater than the cost of | the cheapest automobile, or of a good horse and carriage. The dangers and annoyances of such trafic would IPI’O‘)E’J])’ far outweizgh any possible advantages.-—Columbus Evening Di watch, . Tailor’s Eye on Herriot. The official organ of the German master tallors has been comparing the garments worn by President Ebert and M. Herriot—to the detri- ment of the French premier. The German journal finds that M. Herrlot's trousers are badly cut, and never appear to have been pressed that the walstcoat is far from r- fection, and that the eoat 1s a ¥rerch Aljocity, fitting only where it touclemy —