Evening Star Newspaper, January 4, 1925, Page 39

Everyday Religion Not a Talk BY RIGHT REV.JAMES E. FREEMAN, on_ Theology, But Upon Life and Right Living. ,D.D., Bishop of Washington. A NEW BEGINNING. 8t. 2ark iv, part 35 v: “Let us pass prer undo the other side.” | (Y T, 15 good for a man to come 10 a future he does not know. It is good for you if God brings you to the border of some promised land. Do not hesitate at any experience because of its novelty. Do not draw back from any way because you have never passed there before.” This _was Phillip tion of the attitude of mind with which a new year should be faced. Some years ago I visited the count- ing room of a large commercial con- corn in New York and noted stacked about the walls large boxes marked with the numerals of past years. Up- on Inquiry I found that the boxes contained the records of the trans- /actions, operations, profits and losses of the house. There are some of us who have a habit of classifying and segregating our work according to the calendar year. We pursue the commercial practice of inventorying our stock and making up our business balance sheets for the purpose of indi- cating the successes or the failures, the profits or the losses for a given pe- viod. By this method, one year is a “good year,” another “fair’ and an- other “utterly bad.” The latter im- plies a readiness to go into voluntary bankruptcy. We sometimes wonder whether this is a wise course Life, rightly conceived, must be considered in its entirety, and while it fs well that we make definite reck- onings at times, for the purpose of disclosing our assets or liabilities, there Is a danger in thinking of the future in terms of the past. It is a fine thing to have periodical apprai- sals for the purpose of discovering the strong and weak spots. On the other hand, it is dangerous to undu magnify misfortu or disappoir ments, or to carry over into a new period a “bad account” from the past We must profit, of course, by our ex- periences, and learn through them better and more wholesome ways, but we are bound to believe that no man or woman can enter, with any de- Eree of assurance upon new and un- tried paths, unless they ably confident of the “carry on" in the face ultles and obstacl To carry too much impedimenta has resulted in the defeat of otherwise effl- cient armies. To carry too much in the way of.accumulated misfortunes or disappolntments embarrasses and hinders us In our forward movements. It is casy to observe that the men or the women who really make progress in Brooks’ concep- of all life are those who carry as little in the way of impedimenta as possible. * % % * » No one has ever taught this with so much force and power as did He who all along His way was hindered and halted by the stern and bitter opposi- tion of His enemies. We have noted again and again in the ministry of Jesus that He never recognized a ‘no hope” case. True, He demanded thal those who came to Him should discover and acknowledge their own weaknesses, as well as their need of what He had to give. Repeatedly He sald to those who came to Him “canst thou belleve, all things are possible to him that be- lieveth.” In practically every case He gave renewal of life together with a larger vision of its unfulfilled possibill- ties by demanding that the things of the past should be put away and for- gotten, and the whole vision concen- trated on the things of the future. We read some time ago of a young man who “died of old age &t 25,” while concurrently we had an optimlstic letter from @ man who felt the glow of vouth at 81. The first succumbed be- cause he could see nothing on the hori- zon of tomorrow. He was too much en- tangled with the disappointments and fallures of the past. The second was able to say in the language of the poet: sw old along with me et 1y e Go be The last of the Drst was made. * * X ¥ Last Thursday we passed over into & new vear. Reluctantly or gladly we left the old vear with its records, behind us. The large question that will determine our success or failure, our satisfaction or our disappointment in the new year upon which we have entered, is one that has to do with our |outlook, or what we generally call our philosophy of life. 1f we have, frre- spective of our years, a hopeful, buoy- unt, rationally optimistic outlook, we shall see ralnbows arching the blackest clouds and we shall be able to read into life's most serious or its most radi- ant experiences the meaning of a dlvine plan, to the fulfillment of which we are essentially related. As a young man we loved those words of the ancient prophet: *I the Lord thy God will hold thy righ hand, saying unto thee, fear not; I will help thee.” In the fuller maturity of life with burdening problems it is well to hold with Increasing tenacity. to these ideals or conception of God's relation to us, and to feel always, that come what may, we are moving on and up to the higher fulfillment of His purposes con- cerning us. He had a great conception of life who prayed daily “prepare me, {© Lord, for all that thou art preparing (Copyright. 1924.) Fateful Period of War Debts i Adjustment Begins This Week (Continued from First Page.) represents for France or colonial ac- quisitions may ultimately mean for the British Empire. He has no raw materials, his labor cannot migrate to America and send back wages. For him the matter of payment is aca- demic and, being academic, he treats it with a certain measure of detach- ment. He is in the position of a man having $50 and owing $50.000,000. War Sacrifices Cited. But the Belgian situation is equally bafiing to the Belgian. He was the hero of the war and he paid in heroic proportions. Naturally he could lend no one anything and his sole asset is the share of German reparations which was assigned to him. If he gets that he can pay his foreign debts and his domaestic reconstruction; cer- tainly the world would not want him to have le But if Germany does not pay he is left with his burden of reconstruction and he, at least, will never understand why his allies should hold him up for money pay- ments after his great war sacrifice. fhen Russia is “over the hills and far away”; she owes $5.000,000,000 in wartime debts, four-fifths of it to Rritain, and every one knows that it is now a bad debt and likely to re- main such for a long time, at least; it is, at best, not a calculable asset. Russia will not be represented at the forthcoming conference in Paris, nor will any large value be attached to the respectvie claims upon her. Such, roughly, is the general situa- ton at the moment of a new confer- ence. The people of each country have a conception of their own rights—and wrongs—which —makes any real settlement out of the ques- tion. We, ourselves, refuse utterly to discuss the matter generally. We hold our debts are sacred, indlscus- sible, our position is absolute, and while it remains absolute we must be counted out of any arrangement. Europe's Views Different. But Burope emphatically does mot bolfeve our debts are sacred. It does not belleve we are more entitled to payment than the nations which lost vast numbers of men and had thair territorics ravaged. Even the Brit- ish, who are paving us, regard our stand as indefensible alike in justice and in humanity. As for the conti- #ental nations, one has only to read their press to see what they think And then there is Germany, which does not hold herself morally bound to pay reparations and regards the Dawes plan as impossible of fulfillment. Now, in looking the situation over there are certain things which may be taken as axiomatic: First of all, France will not pay either Britain or the United States, save as Ger- many pays her, and, since the value of German payments can hardly be determined for a number o vears to come—for a decade, pos@ibly—all L discussion of the French payments within that period is likely to be wholly academic. In the second place, neither France nor Italy will ever pay Britain any considerable sum on account of their wartime borrowing. Nelther nation regards the debit as morally sound. And they will pay Britain nothing it Germany does not pay them ap- proximately in full under the Dawes plan. The maximum that the two countries might undertake- would be the difference between what Germany should pay Britain under the Dawes plan, working at its maximum, and what Britaln is paying the United States. British policy is now based, 4upon an expectation of getting the continent to pay her, but of per- suading the United States to coma to a general conference and share in an all-round liquidation. Since we refuse to de this, Britain can and will prevent France and Italy making any payment te us by insisting tpon equal payment to herself. And this 15 not only a legal but an unques- tioned right of the British. Meantime, before two years are over, it is golng to be pretty clear that Germany will not make the pay- ments arranged for in that Dawes settlement. Every one knows this. France and Italy are going to get some coal from Germany on account ot reparations for a long time to ome. Belgium under her priority ights may get her claim liquidated, k as she should, but two years from now, when we have to face again the @masiion of coercing Germany, the ) not debt question will take a new form. We cannot, the British cannot, at one time insist that the French and Ttalians pay us and that they do not use force to make Germany pay them. But nefther we nor the British want the Germans coerced, for it is plain that in, that direction lies new eco- nomic and perhaps political chaos. The attitude of the American pub- ie as contrasted with the Government with respect of foreign debs at the present moment is quite analogous to the attitude of the French people with respect of German reparations which we criticized so severely two years ago. We insist upon payment with- out regard to the capacity of the debtor and refuse to listen to any dis- cussion of the matter of possibilities. The fact that the British are paying us misleads, because Britain, despite the war, remains a creditor nation and 1s the sole European country ca- pable of making any considerabls for- eign payments without upsetting its domestic situation. Yet even for Brit- ain the burden is heavy and arouses protest and resentment. Fate Debts Might Meet. If a Dawes commission sat today upon the financial conditions of France, Belglum and Italy as it did upon the German condition last year, every financial man knows that they would sweep away the tangle of in- terallied debts, exactly as they de- molished the imposing monument of $33.000,000,000 which had been hith- erto fixed as the sum of German obli- gations. The underlying principle of the Dawes plan was that all forelgn payments must be held subsidiary to the restoration and maintenance of the economic health of the debtor nation; that no payment could be de- manded or made when the payment would disturb domestic exchange. And German exchange was restored to par by foreign loans. The Dawes commission, while os- tensibly undertaking to collect repa- rations or fix a method of doing this, actually undertook to restore Germany as an economic and finan- al concern, and to devise means for keeping it so without regard to reparations obligations. But at th present moment the French, Italian and Belgian francs, so far from be- ing at par, are worth less than a third of their pre-war value. France and Italy are making heroic efforts to balance their budgets, but nelther has quite turned the point, although both may next year. The illusion of vast German repar- ations payments has been destroyed. We talked for years in terms of bil- lions and now we are down to a maximum annual German payment of $600,000,000, which may be reached a few years hence, but almost every one knows it will never be reached and probably never approached. (Copyright, 1925.) Wool From Cotton German Invention Experiments have been made in Germany with & new process which is sald to give to aptton fabrics the appearance, feel and texture of wool. It was originated and patented in Germany by the Hoechstr Farbwerke, a large dye company, and was known as the “feiting’’ of cotton. It has been taken up in_ France by the Estab- lissements Kuhlmann, a dvestuft manufacturing company, and the Gil- let group of Lyon dyers and printers. The fabrics, while possessing the appearance and feel of wool, have not its animal warmth, and it is stated that the new cloth will be particularly recommended for wom- en’s sports clothes and other, goods. The treated cloth is stated fo have something of the appearance of flan- nel, and to take wool dyes in a re- markable way. The fabrics will be styled : “Philana.” Negotiations are also being carried on with British capitalists with a view to building a similar mill. in England. The new fabric is already being manufactured in England. Among the valuable relics in the Vatican in Rome are two crowns, one given by Napoleon to Pope Pius XII, containing the largest emerald in the world, and another given by Queen Isabel of Spain to Pope Pius IX. The latter is said-to ba worth $2,000,000 alone, v THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JANUARY %, ‘1.“)25‘—1'P1A"R'D 2. Terms Upon Which Britain Funded Debt BY H. B. ROGERS., United States, post-war precedent, amortization, and, under by principal. Already the British have met by the Stanley commissions, now two debt Baldwin, cluding interest; the British will as of December 15, A Good Deal for the United Agitation interest rate loss to the American principal and part of people the ficials as incorrect. The British debt BY HENRY BUNN. HE following is a brief sum- mary of the most {mportant news of the world for the seven days ended January 3: w. The British Empire—Lawn Bank, Hampstead (known as Went- worth Place in Keats' time), the house and charming gardens attach- ed thereto where Keats composed most of his greatest poems, has just in the nick of time been saved from destruction through purchase thereof by a Keats Society. The plum tree still stands under which the “Ode to a Nightingale” was written. The most precious of the Keats relics will be preserved in the house, including the poet's little collection of books, one of the smallest, yet one of the most important libraries of the world. The King's New Year honor list in- cludes one earldom, two baronies, one privy councilorship, three baronet- cies and over seventy knighthoods. Viscount Jellicoe, ending as gover- ernor general of New Zealand a glori- ous public career, becomes an earl. Sir John S. Bradbury, for splendid service as a member of the .repa- rations commission at the treasury, is made a baron. Of the other honors, the most interesting, perhaps. are the knighthood to Edmond Gosse and the title of Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire to the divine Ellen Terry. * % % ¥ France.—French foreign trade in 1924 showed a considerable export surplus (about 1,400,004,000 franes), as against & considerable import surplus in 1923. The revenue collections of 1924 ex- ceeded those of 1923 by 5,000,000,000 (paper) francs. Of 3,300,000 hectares of land rendered unproductive by the war, 2,970,000 hectares are now pro- ductive. The government collected nearly 5.000,000.000 (paper) francs of revenue from the devastated reglons in 1924, as against less than a billlon francs in 1919. Tha debt of the French government to the United States is $2,933,655,232, plus $650,000,000 interest. Tts debt to Great Britain is £445,000,000, plus £174,000,000 interest. France made war loans to continental allies totaling about 15,000,000,00 gold francs, including 6,- 000,000,000 to Russia. The question of the French war debt to the United States Is in a new and brisk phase of discussion, a dis- cussion not always characterized by magnanimity or courtesy. It were to be hoped that only those (and they are very few in number) who have a complete mastery of the facts would participate In the discussion. It is reported that a memorandum on the subject of the debt from M. Clementel, the French finance minis- ter, is on its way to Washington. It is claimed that through increase of cotton cultivation in French Africa the French empire will soon be independent of the rest of the world in"respect of cotton, a matter of especlal importance in relation to manufacture of explosives. According to Le Matin of Paris, .there are at most 60,000 Communists, or “Soldlers of Moscow,” in France, whereof only about 15,000 are ob- streperous. * k k ¥ Germany—I am now able to give what are declared to be authentlc figures as to the make-up of the new German reichstag as follow: So- clalists, 131; Natlonalists, 103 trists, 69; Peoples’ Party, 651; Commu- nists, 45; Democrats, 32; Bavarian People's Party, 19; Economic Party, 17; National Socialists (followers of Ludendorff and Hitler, now at strife among themselves), 14; Land Leaguers, 8; Hanoverians, 41. The Land Leaguers are hand and glove with the Nationalists. The note of the conference of ambassadors in- forming the German government of the allied decision not to evacuate the Cologne zone January 10 will be jointly delivered at Berlin by the allied diplomatic representatives there on January 6. On December 30 Herr Stresemann, the German foreign minister, delivered himself on the subject with characteristic violence. 1 postpone further comment pending publication of ‘the note. The new Reischstag convenes on January 6. * X * ¥ Italy—The opposition are making turious efforts to fix on Mussolini personal responsibility for many of the Facist outrages, but the evidence they are offering (such as the disclo- sure alleged to have been penned by that Cesare Rossi who Is awaliting trial as one of the principals in the Matteotti affair) is extremely du- bious. It the evidence offered is conclu- sively proved to be false, its produc- tion will be boomerangish. Our information on this head is very imperfect, but apparently in the recent petty fighting between Fascisti and Communists the Communists have been the chief offenders. We are told of several ambushes by Communists in December, im which 14 Fascisti were killed, and of attacks by Com- munists in the first two days of the new year with result of 8 dead ana 17 wounded. Apparently the Fascist ofi- cers have succeeded In preventing bloody reprisals, though the Fascist “Savages” clamor for revenge. On the other hand, several opposition newspaper establishments have been wrecked by Fascisti. The Fascist ket- tle may be black, but it scarce be- comes the opposition pot to say so. Pursuant to a decislon to take. the full action necessary “to safeguard Italy’s moral and material interests,” EOPENING of the old question of can- cellation, or a “new deal"” allied debts has served to focus at- tention afresh on the funding agree- ment between Great Britain and the whereby Great Britain set a based on sound business prin- ciples, is now paying off her huge war debt of more than $4,000,000,000 to this country regular payments on both interest and ment due under the funding plan worked out premier Britain, and Secretary of the Treasury Andrew W. Mellon, for the United States. years, the entire debt will have been paid, In- 62 years a total of $11,105,965,000 on a debt 1922, of $4,074,818,358.44 plus accrued interest of nearly §$600,000,000 in some quarters which would point out that the British settlement was not a sound agreement, and on account of the low allowed would result of the entire interest British debt was characterized by Treasury of- settlement has already proved the criterion upon which have been based the terms agreed to between the United States and four others of her debtors from The Story the Week Has Told war days. all others similar in inter- American people. The general principle a plan of cerned—in this case 62 At the present time ment every pay- terest running from 2 headed by of Great Within 62 have within account, but, States. continue, first year later on. in a net on the there the Nor was period from the Italian government is causing a search of the houses of certain mem- bers of the opposition, justifying the action by reports from its agents of secret stores of arms. A much bappier item of news—the happiest that has reached us from Italy this long time—is that the King, of his own motion and under no pres- sure from Mussolini, proposes to is- sue a decree of general political amnesty. P China—That is a very interesting affair, the strike of the students of Ya Li, or the College of Yale in China, at Chang Sha, in Hunan Prov- ince, in protest against the Bible as a required subject of study. Prof. Williams of Yale, son of that great sinologist Dr. S. Wells Wil- liams, has the following to say about it: “Two elements are in evidence all over the country. One of them fis bolshevism, with its strong irreligious basis, which Instigates for the mo. The Mystery of Gold in World Debt Tangle. Europe owes America ten bil- lions. There are but nine billions of gold in the world. Will Burope try to get rid of the gold standard eventually as a way out? Can she do it? 1 not, how can she.pay her debts? Where is tha gold to come from? Or can she find an- other medium? The accompanying article con- tains the answers of the great- est gold miner in America, and are interesting for their bearing on problems now being dis- cussed by the nations of the world. BY DREW PEARSON. F the world's entire supply of gold coin and bullion were gathered together from every corner of the globe, it would not be suffi- cient to pay Europe's debt to America. That is the substance of an inter- view with Albert E. Carlton, veteran gold miner of the Rocky Mountains. A. E. Carlton ought to know. His Golden Eagle Company is the biggest gold refining company in the world, and his Cresson mine is famous for its “vugs” or subterranean caverns lined with gold. Out of one of these Carlton took $1,000,000. I found Mr. Carlton in his office, which is not far from the base of Pikes Peak, and put this question to him: Is there enough gold in the world to pay Europe's debt to us?" Not in Coin or Bullion. “Not in coin or in the bulllon re- serves of the banks,” he replied care- fully. “There is only about $9,000,- 000,000 worth of gold in the entire world, and Europe owes us around $10,000,000,000, In addition to which she should be paving us interest at about $1,000,000,000 a year, but isn't. “But the world has a lot more gold than the reserves in the banks indi- cate. In medieval times, for Instance, our ancestors didn’t worry much over the almighty dollar, but invested their gold in armor and plates and jewelry. Between 1492 and 1894 $4,000,000,000 out of the $8,000,000,000 mined was used in this way. Since 1894 we have gone in more for stocks and bonds rather than armor and royal crowns, so that only 25 per cent of our gold has been used in the arts. “If Europe pays us in cash,” con- cluded Mr. Carlton, “she’ll have to melt up some of the crowns and jew- elry that the Hapsburgs and Roman- ofts once fought for.” “Can FEurope pay us by mining more gold?” I asked. Gold Production Deereasing. “Not according to present estimates. The world's gold production seems to be decreasing. It fell $50,000,000 last year below the average production for the past 10 years. Of course, it is impossible to estimate the amount of gold remaining in the earth’s crust, but 5o far as the mines now in opera- tion go, their life is limited to about five years.: Mr. Carltdn paused and looked out of his window at the snowy summit of Pikes Peak, up which the railroad that he built carries thousands of tourists yearly. Apparently his thoughts were back in the days when the West was the West, and those mountains flowed with yellow treasure. Today black tréas- ure is becoming more valuable than yellow, and Mr. Carlton, always abreast of the times, has organized the Pikes Peak Fuel Co., largest lignite coal con- cern in the world. He has torn up part of his old railroad which once ca~'~d the gold of Cripple Creek down to e money marts of civilization and turned his bridges and tunnels and roadbed over to the State for a concrete high- way, which cuts the great Contimental Divide. And with the gradual exhaus- tion of vellow metal, this gold king has turned to oil and sugar, and is now as omnipotent over the destinies of a great chain of beet-sugar mills as he once was over gold mines. 1 roused Mr. Carlton from his reverie by asking if gold had lost the appeal which once drove men to Arctic wilder- ‘ness and blazing deserty The British settlement, nature, gress has acted, have received the unqualified approval of the Congress, and also, it is claim- ed by thelr advocates, the approval of the Cont of Momey Averaged. est rate allowed Great Britain, was based, was learned to be the average cost to a govern- ment of money over the term of years con- is paying to holders of Liberty bonds and other obligations representing money loan- ed to Great Britain a varfety of rates of in- - % % whereas Great Britain States Government 3 per cent on the loan. It was to be expected, officials, that at first there would be ference between the two interest rates paid by and received by the United States on the as has already become evident, the Government is beginning to get the ad- vantage of lower rates. term of vears, it is expected, the Interest mat- ter will about break even as to the amount paid out by this Government. and the amount received from Great Britain. the annual payments on principa! and {nterest beginning with $161,000,000 for the and running up to higher figures No Gap In Interest Perlod. any beginning of the Great Britain by this Government. were made in several Installments during the war, between April, 1917, and June, 1919. The World Has Not Enough Gold To Liquidate Debts to U. S as well as Interest rate on which Con- Shown to Be Advantageous to America agreed upon by the Baldwin-Mellon agreement was fixed at 4% per cent from the time of the l0an-up to the time of the agree- ment, December 15, 1922, and this Interest of about $600,000,000 was added to the capital debt, to be refunded into the new obligations upon which the inter- in cash, so years. the American Govern- ment in the up to 4% per cent, is paying the United according to American ome dif- set a pace So that over the All the while date Great Britain's debt in 62 All Debt Payments Met. The American-British agreement was hailed at the time on both sides of the Atlantic as a new forward step in sealing the Inviolability of international contract and as looking to- ward eventual adjustment of the financial and economic situation of Europe. English-speaking peoples were sald to have of the British government. On the 15th of March there was pald over as to make the refunded debt a round figure, the odd sum of $4,128,085.74, and new obligations bearing interest of 3 per cent for the first 10 years and 33 per cent thereafter were turned over to this Govern- amount of $4,600,000,000 to liqui- years. The two great which Mr. Baldwin admitted at the time would be difficult for his debt-burden- ed empire, at that time suffering from much unemployment. has not yet passed a debt-payment date. Roughly speaking, by Great Britain ment was signed includes both principal and ments on principal are made annually, But his majesty’s government the total amount paid ince the refunding agree- is now $220,000,000. This interest. Pay- and payments on interest are made seml-annul- Iy, gap in the interest loan to The loans ment a flerce antagonism against every kind of religious teaching. The other is the presence of great num- bers of Chinese who on returning from Japan find themselves lout- classed by Western educated teach- ers in competing for places in schools of modern types. They play upon the prevailing opposition to European in- fluences and incite students to com- bat “foreign institutions.” The other day a Chinese brigade sta- tioned at famous Kalgan, about 125 miles northwest of Peking, mutinied and took to looting. Forthwith one of the brigades of Gen. Feng Yu Hslang was dispatched to Kalgan from Peking. It rounded up the muti- neers and proceed to executs by shooting about 1,500 caught in the act of looting. * ¥ ¥ % Egypt.—I remarked several weeks ago that the fifth of the British de- mands on the Egyptian government No," he replied. “We shall always ntinue to hunt for and, I hope, dis- cover gold. Some new vein is always cropping up. even in those old mines of ours out there. They still pay dividends. “And,” he went on, more enthusiasti- cally, “you've heard perhaps of the new mines in Central Africa. They're the greatest bonanza yet. 1 Wouldn't be sur- prised if all Africa was pretty well un- derlain with gold.” “Has the world been thoroughly explored for gold?” T asked. “Yes, it has been pretty well raked over, but we're always finding new stuff. There have been some quartz mines recently opened in South America, and Canada is another new field. The Hoflander mine, 100 miles north of Toronto, is one of the greatest producers in the world, and the Porcupine flelds, in which it is located, have jumped Canada up to the third most Important gold coun- try. Australia is out of it now, and the United States ranks next to South Africa. Three-fourths of the gold shipped into this country comes from the African fields. “So,” said Mr. Carlton, “if we wait long enough, Europe may be gble to mine enough gold to pay her debts. But that will take a long, long time, and meanwhile she Is trying to pay us with goods. “Fortunately or unfortunately, two things are against her: Our tariff and the fact that she must buy cer- tain essential materials from us. Even today, Europe has an unfavor- able balance of trade. That is, she buys more from us than we buy from her, which is another reason she hab to send us gold. The goods must be pald for. We now have one-half the entire world’s gold supply in this country, with more pouring in every month,” Gold Standard Secure. ‘Suppose,” I suggested, “that Eu rope, having sent all her gold ovi here, turus_around and says: ‘Keep the stuff. We'll adopt another me- dium of exchange. “She's been trying to do that all along,” Mr. Carlton snapped back. “That's exactly what Germany did— adopted another medium of exchange. She adopted paper. But immediately paper prices went up, so that there were two prices: one for gold and one for paper. Gold prices remained the foundation of her trade. Every one talked and reckoned and did business in terms of gold, even if they used paper. Paper meant noth- ing, and now Germany has discarded it for the basic metal which she tried to do without. No country,” said Mr. Cariton emphatically, “can long exist without a metallic base for its cur- rency.” “Is there a danger of our getting too much gold?” I put my final ques- tion. : “It might become rather unhealthy if our Federal Reserve banks were not careful to avoid inflation. But it is not nearly as unhealthy as a scarcity of gold. Our country suf- fered seriously from this in its early days, and even in the past 20 years we have had serious depressions. due o our lack of gold. That was dur- ing the period when we were a debtor nation and had to pay our debts by shipping gold bullion to Europe. Today we no longer write our balance figures in red [letters. We have switched from a debtor country to the greatest creditor na- tion in the world.” (Copyright, 1924.) Peril to St. Paul’ Is Termed Urgent Maj. Harry Barnes, speaking at a meeting of the London Society in the hall of the Royal Soclety of Arts, suggested that the city cor- poration should take measures to allay the apprehension roused by the report of the royal filne art com- missioners on the proposed St. Paul's Bridge. “I say with a sense of the great- est responsibility,” he added, “that the stability of St. Paul's Cathedral is causing the greatest anxiety among all those charged with the care of it. “If we really want to save the na- tional monument from disaster, im- ;:zdll.ta steps must be taken to avert in June and December. Debt agreements with other powers for fund- ing their war-time debts to this Government, following the lines of the British agreement, have been concluded with Finland, Hungary, Lithuania_and approved by Congress. Poland. These have all been was perplexing, and I still find it so. The demand is that the Egyp- tian government assent that irriga- tion in the Gezira shall not be limited to 300,000 acres, as hitherto con- templated, but may indefinitely be ex- tended at the option of the Sudan government. The Gezira (island) is the triangle of land of which the southern base rests on the province of Sennar, the Blue Nile and the White Nile forming the other two sides. Khartum is at the northern angle, Under irrigation the Gezira soll pro- duces the very best quality of Egyp- tlan cotton. A dam is under con- struction at Makwar, near the town of Sennar, on the Blue Nile, the object of which is to raise the river to a level sufficient to feed a great canal which is being excavated across the Gezira plain. The work is being car- ried on by the Sudan government with funds obtained by a loan floated in the British market on the guaran- tes of the British government. Con- struction has been started of another dam on the White Nile about 24 miles south of Khartum, with a capacity about double that of the great As- suan dam, and solely for the henefit of Egypt. The Egyptian government undertook to finance the project. Con- struction has been suspended for lack of funds. The Makwar project, as officlally given out, contemplates supply .of water to the Gezira Canal for irriga- tion of 300,000 acres; without diminu- tion, I take it, of the supply which Egypt would get from the Blue Nile were the dam not there. I quote again the pledge given by the British govern- ment in 1922 that “The development of the Sudan should never threaten or interfers with the existing water sup- ply of Egypt or with that which might be required to bring Egyptian territory under full cultivation.”” What, then, is the meaning of the fifth British demand? Is it a repudia- tion in whole or In part of the pledge Jjust quoted? It is to be observed that the great Rivernine works on the Nile, constructed by the British, have trebled the cultivable area of Egypt, With the result of doubling the population since 1882, But One hears that since, in 1922, the British renounced their protectorate over Egypt, the Rivernine works have been neglected and already the desert has begun to reclaim {ts own. Per- haps In their fitth demand the British government hinting that the Egyp- tians could not expect to have their neg- lect and waste made good at the ex- pense of Sudanese development, which depends on extension of irrigation; that the pledge assumed proper upkeep of the magnificent system of water stor- age and distribution provided for Egypt by the British. But such indirectness of statement would be rather absurd. One suspects that the fifth demand was in fact a threat delivered in wrath and in forgetfulness of the pledge above quoted. It is, however, a reasonable proposition that the interests of the Sudan_should not be allowed to suffer trom Egyptian wantonness. * ¥ ¥ % United States of Amerfea—Secre- tary Hoover has issued a very reassur- ing New Year survey and forecast, whereof the following items are of espe- clal significance; “The average wage in (merican) industry has been stable during the past year and remains around 100 per cent above pre-war, while the cost of living has maintained almost exactly the same level at the end of each of the last three vears— that fs, about 72 per cent over pre-war. Qur labor, therefore, continues to enjoy the highest real wage in its history. “International exchange in goods, measured In quantities, is probably still 10 to 12 per cent below pre-war, but the United States Is unique among the large combatant nations in hav- ing recovered its foreign trade to a point 15 to 20 per cent above pre- war on a value basis. The total of our exports for the year will show about $4,600,000,000 and our imports $3.600,000,000.” The only exceptions to the “real ad- vance toward soclal, economic and po- litical stability throughout the world are Russia and China, “which even before the war contributed less than 3% per cent of international com- merc . At the opening session of the con- vention of the American Association for the Advancement of Sclence in Washington on December 31, Dr. Hugh P. Young of Johns Hopkins an- nounced the development of a new germicide named “merchurochrome,” of marvelous and almost universal virtue, a near approach to the *Thera- pla sterilisans magna” predicted by Ehrlich. kK % ok Notes—The racial controversies in Czechoslovakia are becoming more and more acute. The minority representa- tives, Slovak, German, Hungarian and Ruthenian, withdrew from Parlia- ment in a body the other day. More- over, they issued a manifesto of pro- test to the world against the alleged overriding of the fundamental rights with respect to land, languages, schools, etc. They object also to the great expense of the military estab- lishment. To be sure, it is not long since the army was reduced by half, Le., to 150,000, but there is now a demand that it be cut down to 70,000. The counter revolution appears to ba completely victorious in Albania. Bishop Noll and his government col- leagues have fled the country. It is long since we have had impor- tant news concerning the situation in the Hejaz, except for the item that the Indian Moslems have ceased to give moral or financial support to Ibn Sa Ud, Sultan of Nejd, whom aow, a little tardily, they recognize as a hereticy Howe About A Well Behaved Devil; The “Gay Dog” Credo; Plain People; Horse Sense. BY E. W. HOWE, “The Sage of Potato Hill” ERNARD SHAW no more be- lieves In Christianity than Pilate did; he doubts that such a man as Christ ever lived. He is a materlalist, through and through, yet has possibly written a greater number of sound moral maxims than any other man in his- tory. He is admittedly a great force for right conduct and right thinking. His critics admit he is a good man. No scandal attaches to his private life; he is a good husband, father and citizen, a helpful man not only in his community, but in the world. He is not a sentimentalist, but finds inspiration for good behavior in the truth; in materfalism. He livés in the modern Sodom, London, but is as upright and simple in his habits as a New England farmer. Truth s his Bible, experiencs his New Testament; in the grossest ma- terfalism he finds warrant for up- rightness, for usefulness. He does not fear elther God or the devil, only the penalty every one must pay for folly. And you ara advised to be slow in rejecting this man's gospel; he knows everything you know, and a good deal more. There is not living today a man with an equally clear brain. And it is fortified with very wide learning and experience, for the man is near 70. No religious prophet of the pasat has written more powerfully for morals than Bernard Shaw, and he has no devil except the devil of dys- pepsia, of bust head, of the contempt of neighbors; no hell except con- science; no heaven except the good results of behaving himself as best he can. * X ¥ X I think it .remarkable that the best women do not more generally oppose the foolish, mischievous members of thelr sex. The best women seem to believe that their wrongs are so great that possibly the outlaw women may get something for them, as respect- able men seem. to believe the outlaw men may get something for them. I believe the decent should stand to- gether better: that they are too easy with the indecent. = x % People ara already too shiftless: it is a crime to further encourage them. e i As I do not care for preachers, you may think I enjoy tough stories on them. 1 do mot. 1 was brought up in a very re- ligious family, my father being a preacher, and to this day I expect men of this kind to be very circum- spect kill-joys. 1 know a preacher who attends dances, frisks about with the ladies, with whom he is a favorite. Some- how the man’s conduct shocks me, al- though I know it is proper enough. At a recent gay party I attended a reverend presided at the punch bowl and there was a big spike of moon- shine in the punch. As my readers know, I am a tough old sinner, but 1 drank none of the punch and didn’t enjoy the scene. * ok ok * I was lately visiting a man and he told me in mysterious whispers to follow him. Procuring spades at the barn, we went Into the brush and dug and dug and dug. And finally we came to a box in which thers was pre-war whisky. He offered me a bottle. I didn’t take it. 1 wish to say to my fellow fools that there never was any good Whisky; the stuff to be had now s only more dangerous and villainous than the old. I have toyed with the bottle enough to know there is no good in it, for me, and I lived long before prohibition was thought of. When I read of old wines and the enthusiasm displayed about them it disgusts me. The best joys I know or can find are connected with awaken- Ing from a good night's sleep; from “feeling well,” from behaving myself, from taking care of myself. And I'm not taking care of myself when I drink whisky, pre-war or any other kind. There is a certain joy in violating the prohibitory law, in being a gay sport, in rebellion against the Gov- ernment. 1 may finally buy a still and sneak- Ingly make moonshine, for the joy of acting devilish. But after I have made the moonshine whisky, I shall pour it out. I do not want it myself and know it is not good for my friends. This is no confession of such sins as Al Jennings, formerly an outlaw but now an evangelist, tells about I'm only confessing the little sins all falrly decent men are too much given to. * *x * % Probably you are like other men and take only your own advice. Then I beg you to give yourself good advice. * * ¥ X Probably you have sufficient Intei- ligence. Nearly every man has been kicked around until he has learned a good deal. Lately I rarely pick up reading matter of any kind without seeing denunciation of “the herd,” meaninz the masses, those who know little and are forever floundering around in their own mistakes. Get out of “the herd,” if you can. And you can. * % x % You often hear the expression “The truth will set you fres.” The truth that will set you free is not a big, unusual thing. It doesn’t appear in a cloud of fire. It isn't an- nounced by some prophet or teacher the truth s extremely simple and men generally know it . Trim your mind and get rid of non- sense, for the reason that plain com- mon_ sense is your best friend. What are the great human weak- nesses? You know. Avoid them. What bad habits cause 79 per cent of men who might have been suc- cessful to become dependent in old b You know. Avoid these habits. If the church will help you do Join the church; but if you do not find this necessary, remember every real- 1y good thing the church teaches is as vital to you as to any preacher. * * x % It is impossible for any man to be entirely intelligent and moral. But be as intelligent and moral as you can, for the reason that these two are the most vital of life prin- clples. If you were not born with much sense, make the most of the little you have. * * x % If people take liberties with you, and tickle your hind legs, kick, as a mule does. People have no right to tickle your hind legs. ok The most valuable lessons I have learned have coma from plain people who neither write for print nor de- liver public lectures. I have pro- found respect for the people in the audience. They are forced to consider their problems with sincerity, where- as speakers and writers are usually artificial; I know no writer who has discussed real life as candidly and intelligently as I have heard it dis- cussed {n private. Writers, actors, orators, are mere entertainers we call on when real life is at rest. The sage one encounters in books are usual the most entertaining writers rather than the soundest thinkers. I can g0 up my Main street (and I have al- ways lived in the country) and hear sounder philosophy than any to be found in anclent or modern Ilbraries. The people know life, and picture it accurately to each other. Congress to Start New Year Right With Old Debt Payment (Continued from First Page.) - which the Government determined its own arbitrator, the court was di- Tected to “examine and determine the validity and amount of all the claims, together with their present owner- ship.” After the passage of this act an exhaustive argument for more than a week the court unanimously decided that they were just and valid claims upon our Government, the property of the claimants “having been taken without just compensa- tion” to pay and cancel our national obligations to France. These claims represept the unauthorized sacrifice of individuals to save the Nation's honor. Rehearings, having been held upon the request of the Government, re- sulted in the court adhering to its former decision. Reaffirmed 25 Years Later. Twenty-five vears later, after the personnel of this court had entirely changed, the five new judges, on an independent re-examination of the question, reaflirmed the decision of thelr predecessors and held the United States liable to the citizens for all property lost by the illegal action of French cruisers and privateers. Judge Howry, rendering the unanimous opinion of the court, sald: “The spoliation claims ss a class were valid obligations from France to the United States, and our Gov- ernment surrendered them to France for a valuable consideration benefit- ing the Nation, and this use of the claims raised an obligation founded upon right.” The main question—the validity of the claims and the liability of the governfent to pay for the losses— having been decided and the various amounts and ownership_ determined, they were certified to Congress and they were paid to a_total of $3,910,- 860.61—as follows: March 3, 1891, $1,304,096.37; March 3, 1889, $1,065, 473.04; May 27, 1902, $798,631.27, and February 24, 1905, $752,660.93. These four appropriations by Congress cov- ering awards thus made by the court and the signing of them by the Ex- ecutive confirmed them as binding and valid obligations and debts of the Gov- ernment. Pay Direet Kin. All these appropriation acts pro- vided that payment be made if a per- sonal representative of the original sufferers should satisfy the Court of Claims after the appropriations are made that such personal representa- tive represents the next of kin of the original sufferers of the loss—a pro- vision by which, as construed by the court, “Congress wished to protect the flesh and blood of the original suffer- ers from any invasion or sacrifice of right.” Since 1905 the Court of Claims in- sists upon the claimants, whose claims were filed by January 20, 1887, either presenting the remaining cases for trial or, if no further evidence was obtainable, such cases were dis- missed. This was also insisted upon by the Attorney General in order that Congress might know definitely the amount of obligations. Each case then filed under the jurisdictional act of 1885 has been passed on and certi fied to Congress. The Attorney Gen- eral in his annual report of Decem- ber 6, 1915, announced the final dispo- sitfon of all French spoliation claims remaining on the docket of the Court of Claims and said that no further outstanding claims existed. Those that are now before Congress and unpaid, and are provided for in the present legislation which Presi- dent Coolidge emphasizes should be paid, amount to $3,248,202.47. The va- itdity and justice of these claims hav been ratified by the three co-ordinate branches of our Government—the ju- dicial, legislative and executive. No interest or costs have been al- lowed to the clalmants by the court nor are any provided for in the pend- ing bill. In fact, the amount of dam- age claimed has been greatly reduced by the court on account of the inabil- ity of the claimants to obtain certain documentary evidence, much of which has been lost or destroved during the lapse of a century and a quarter. Claimants In Every State. Although the claimants were orig- inally, from the Atlantic seaboard running from the coast of Maine as far south as Savannah, Ga.. vet at the present time the next of kin and heirs who are the beneficiaries reside in every State throughout the Union, and if these remaining awards are appropriated for the money will be distributed to them. S The recommendation of President Coolidge follows along the line of that presented by President Taft (now Chief Justice) in his annual message 14 years ago when he sald the non-payment of these awards “in- Jures the reputation of the Govern- ment as an honest debtor.” Follow- ing this statement on December 10, 1910, President Taft again on Decem- ber 21, 1911, referred to the delay of Congress in enacting the legislation needed to make payment of these honest debts of the Nation: “In my last message, I recom- mended to Congress that it authorize the payment of the findings or judg- ments of the Court of Claims In the matter of the French spoliation cases. There has been no appropriation_to pay these judgments since 1805. The findings and award were obtained after a very bitter fight, the Govern- ment succeeding in about 75 per cent of the cases. The amount of the awards ought, as a matter of good faith on the part of the Government, to be paid.” Covers All Remaining Claim The bill now pending covers all re- maining claims, and only those in which favorable awards have been made, and ends the jurisdiction as stated by the Attorney General in his report of December 6. 1915. So now, we come down to this fact: Calvin Coolidge, the' tight-fisted Yamkee, known throughout the country for his integrity and rigid, economy on governmental affairs as he always has been in his private at- fairs—and elected by an overwhelm- ing vote just because of his reputa- tion for enocomy—tells Congress and the country just as the New Year dawns—"The United States ought to pay its ~