Evening Star Newspaper, January 11, 1925, Page 37

EDITO NATIO RIAL PA E NAL PROBLEMS SPECIAL ARTICLES Part 2—14 Pages U. S. WANTS FRANK DEBT STATEMENT FROM PARIS Given That, Washington Likely Would Be Generous in Arranging Payment, Says Expert. BY FRANK H. SIMONDS. WO weeks of fairly stiff con- versations between foreign offices, carried on chiefly through the medium of the Press together with unmistakably acrimonious discussion in the respec- tive Congresses of France and the United States, have brought the debt question to a point where certain facts are made fairly clear, while others, perhaps equally important, re- main as obscure as ever. To begin at the beginning, there is general agreement between Washing- ton and Paris that there can be no repudiation of the French debt and no cancellation. But, despite all the recent disturbance over the matter ot repudiation, there is no foundation for any assertion that the French Government had contemplated any such action. To put the case on the lowest possible level of self interest, the French Government, having just made considerable borrowings in America and doubtless expecting to make more, would hardly choose this moment for repudiation Maneuver Is Charged. No, on the contrary, one must con- clude that the whole debate was opened by an American interpreta- tlon of a French situation, which was not even an accepted interpretation here. The fact was that the Ameri- can Government thought the moment fitting to try and find out what French intentions were and seized upon an accidental circumstance to launch its gesture. It did not believe France was intending to repudiate, but it did think it might persuade France to say what was the French plan. The operation brought a prompt denial of any such plan of repudia- tion. It served also to launch a fresh congressional declaration of American purpose not to cancel. So far so good. As 1 have said we know that the French do not intend to repudlate, the French know we do not intend to cancel. So much of the pathway has been illuminated. In the next place the discussion elicited an agreement between Wash- ington and Paris on the general prin- ciple that France could not at the moment be expected to pay anything and might therefore ask for a mora- torium Duration Not Disclosed. In the matter of how long this moratorium should be agreement was not disclosed. Paris talked about 10 years. Washington obviously regard- ed this as too long, but on the other hand did not raise any objection to a moratorium which might extend for years and during which the actual payments would not begin. The third point pretty well estab- lished was that the United States was willing to consider giving to the French easier terms than had been given to the British, particularly as it was presently made clear that the British were not going to make such & concession a basis for a demand for a revision of their debt settle- ment. The country, by and large, and Congress as result seemed ready to concede that France might not be able to pay as much as the British, certainly not with the same relative promptness. Back of these falrly precise points there was some rather loose talk of applying the principles of the Dawes Dlan to France, talk which came from Paris and from Washington alike. But no very definjte ideas were de- veloped along this line, and at this point the discussion began to drift again into the fog which has sur- rounded it from the very outset. To be perfectly frank, the discussion never did come down to the point of when. how and how much France would pay. Not Clear on Dawes Plan. Now the appeaj to the principles of the Dawes plan confuses the Amercan mind because as a rule the American public regards the Dawes plan as a settlement. To our mind a commit- tee of impartial experts went over the assets of a bankrupt Germany and de- clded how much Germany could pay and how long a delay she required to set into paying condition. Having settled these points they fixed the an- nual payments of Germany, and now these payments have begun and will continue. Unfortunately the Dawes plan_was not quite so ple. It was ndt in fact a settlement, but an experiment in settlement. It did fix a moratorium, it did fix 2 maximum of German pay- ments mounting to something over $600,000,000 annually several years hence. But it did not say that Ger- many would surely be able to pay this much and thus settle the question n the other hand, with obvious dolibt as to whether Germany could / reach the total fixed, it provided that if German payments interfered with German exchange they should be sus- vepded. In other words, what “the Dawes plan did was to establish the pringiple that Germany should not be asked to pay not merely more than she could, but more than she could without Injury to herself. Finally it did not declde how long Germany should continue to pay the fixed sum. Different With France, Now when it comes to a question of France the problem is complicated. I'rance {s not a conquered nation, bound to pay reparations for destruc— tion resulting from a wiliful disturb- ance of world peace. She is not oc- cupied by foreign armies, she is not, in fact, subjected to coercion now suilty of acts which have led to an infliction of damages. On the con- trary, she is a country whose debts were incurred resisting German ag- Bression. - In practice, then, the creditors of France, and the American oreditor in particular, cannot appoint receivers for France, authorized to enter the premises, take over the banks, rail- ways, government monopolies, super- vision of finances and all else, as was done in the case of Germany. It is possible in the case of France to in- voke the principle of the Dawes plan, but it is out of the question to invoke the practices. There cannot be u Dawes committee with power to ex- amine France save as France con- sents. Nevertheless, with respect it is possible to say of France what we have sald with respect of Germany, namely, that no payments can be asked of her which would disturb her own domestic economy. France not only cannot be asked to pay beyond her theoretical capacity, but also she cannot be asked to pay beyond the point where her exchange remains stable. France must first of all be shown to be able to pay before she can be asked for payment at all, and her payments must be, without re- gard to the sum of indebtedness, held within the limits of her own economic health. But how are we going to establish French capacity to pay? For example, one of the chief assets of France for the payment of foreign debts must be her claim upon Germany in the shape of reparations and the second must be her claim upon her own allies for what she lent them, for she was a lender as well-as a borrower in the war period. But we frankly don’t know how much France is going to get from the Dawes plan, because we don't know how much Germany Is golng to pay; we only know that she won't pay, namely, anything in excess of the figure fixed as a maximum by the Dawes committee. If Germany pays that figure, $600,000,000 annually, France will get more than half and then she would be able to discharge her bill to America and to Great Brit- ain, to repay both her borrowings on the basis of the Anglo-American debt settlement. If her debtors pay her she will also get back not all, but more than two-thirds of what her own reconstruction of ruins cost her. Yet we are not going to know for five years, at least, whether the Dawes plan will wors—that is, whether Germany can and will live up to it. Thus, France is not going to know for the same time how: much she is to get from Germany, although this will be her best asset to meet her for- eign debts. And in the same sense France is not going to_know, for a time at least as long, how much, if anything, she will get upon her loans to her allies. French View Presented. Thus the Frenchman, in effect, says: “I agree that there can be no ques- tion of repudiation. I agree that there can be no question even of can- cellation. You agree that I can't pay anything now, in my present situa- tion, when, in fact, I have to borrow money abroad to fortify my own ex- change, which is vulnerable and suf- fered one severe raid less than a yvear ago! Now, beyond this agreement, what can we profitably do at this time. Just as soon as I know what my assets are I can consider the liquidation of my liabilities. But if I am made to wait on Germany, by reason of the Dawes plan, which has an American name, surely America | must be willing to wait on me.” | “Well in general terms the Amer- {ican sees reason in this, but he also feels that in some way the debate {1s getting away from him, for he is not arriving at any settlement of the issue of payment. He is willing to give the Frenchman a breathing spell, since he sees It is reasonable and even inevitable, but at the end of that time he wants to know what to expect. But it is just here that the Dawes plan bedevils the whole situation. The Dawes plan never fixed the sum that Germany must pay in any event. It never seftled upon a minimum and allowed that if Germany did not pay that much she would be in- dubitably in willful default and, therefore, liable to coercion. No, it only said that if at any time any German payment, big or little, dis- turbed German exchange, it should cease. How, then, can one now fix a minimum for France? Payments in German Coin. Then the Dawes plan did some- thing else. It undertook to have the creditors of Germany paid in German money inside of Germany, to have Germany deposit to the account of her debtors so much money each year in her own banks. These creditors had to get that money out of Germany without disturbing Ger- man credit or German exchange. None of the creditors of Germany is going to have money delivered in its own currency and within . its frontiérs, as the British deliver their payments in New York. Now, then, what would be the sit- uation if this phase of the Dawes plan were applied to the American claims against France and France were bound to deposit a certain num- ber of milllon or billion francs to our credit in Paris and we were in- vited to get them out without dis- turbing Frenoh exchange? We could then only be paid In moods, in French goods, or in French seérvices, but just how could we get paid? As to gold, that would be out of the question practically, for France has today less gold than she needs for her reserve. _ Finally, In persuading the Geriman to accept the Dawes plan, we led him up to the point gently by offering him a loan of $200,000,000 to begin with, enough to pay more than one year of his obligations, one of the years of approximate moratorium. France, then, invoking the principle of the Dawes plan might ask for a preliminary loan. May Never Get Maximum. So, it must be evident that the Dawes plan does not offer a very defi- nite way to get our money now or even later. Indeed, no one can say that the Dawes plan will ever work at its maximum estimate. The Ger- mans say it will not. Certain British economists and bankers are equally sure. Other economists assert that the creditor nations will never find any way profitably to take up the sums deposited to their credit in Ber- Iin, because to take German goods therefor would be to cripple their home consumption of home manufac- tures. So far the only debt settlement that has worked has been the Anglo- American, and that has worked for the simple reason that Great Britain has still, despite the war, very large foreign investments, her income from abroad exceeds her expenditures by a large amount, perhaps $800,000.000, afd out of this, which would be nor- mally added to her capital, she is paying us roughly 20 per cent. No other nation has anything like that resource. In the end one comes to the conclu- sion that something will be paid us on our debts by France, and similarly by Italy and Belgium, who stand in precisely the same position. But what is paid may or may not bear any defl- nite relation to what was borrowed. The underlying basis of payment will be capacity to pay without disturb- ance to national economy. Whether France owes a billion or ten billion, she will pay only what she can pay, what she can pay not in theory, but in practice. Should Be Friendly Parley. But how is one to determine this capacity? That, after all, is the real step which remains to be taken. All the fulminations between parliaments over the debt question do not affect the main situation. = Sometime or other experts of both nations will have to sit down to the examination (Continued on Twellth Page.) L] | | | | - EDITORIAL SECTION he Sunday Stad e e e e e e WASHINGTON, D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, JANUARY 11, 1925. \ THE PASSING SHOW IN POLITICS BY N. 0. MESSENGER, HAT is party loyalty This question, which is being frequently asked these days, is recelving answers as varlegated in character as the colors in Joseph's coat. é¢ There is Senator Ladd of North instance, who cannot understand other Republicans should be outlawed by the whose number includes those who voted against President Coolidge on the postal regulars, bill veto. Senator Edge of New Jersey, who was one of those who voted against the President, out- lined very plainly what he thought is party regularity, holding that it cannot consist in voting against the candidates nominated by a Senator Borah held that in this par- bill President went on record during the campaign and that his it was virtually a party campaign party. ticular case of the postal against the postal salary bill, veto of issue. The fine distinctions over party loyalty and regularity are calculated to bring about in- teresting discussions on Capitol Hill for some time to come, in the efforts to answer the ques- tion, “What is party loyalty?” A Kk The contest between the forces favoring and opposing the ratification of the amendment growing in Gov. Smith of New York, dum of the voters. of ratification on the floor of the He associated the National Association of Manufacturers with the fight against ratifica- tion, and asserted that the opposition is based “exploit the children of the He held up as absurd and unfounded the argument-that the amendment was a Com- proponents were closely allied with the Russian Soviet. The indications are that the current agita- tion both for and against its ratification will set the Nation to thinking about the question. upon desire to Nation.” munist and that plot its * k% k% Senator Copeland of New York, ing a prominent part in the leadership of his in that State, has very distinct ideas party to the Constitution intensity and bitterness. fornia ratified the amendment last Thursday. in his message to the Legislature, proposes that the question of ratification shall be submitted to a referen- Senator Walsh of Mon- tana opened a bitter fire upon the opponents upon plans for a revival of the Democratic party of the Nation. planks for that undertaking laid down by Senator Copeland are: “Reprisals for past Dakota, for why he and alone.” not veto the of bearer because of lute monarch.” * ¥ New York politicians are wondering what effect Gov. Smith's present deadlock over pro- posed legislation in the State Legislature may have upon the governor's future bhold upon the leadership of his party, and whether the deadlock will be water over the wheel child labor is rapidly Cali- Senator Copeland in ing proportions, ment of any week Gov. Legislature, that body. posals for legislation. Senate. the, islature on 12 ed for bi-partisan will stand. * ok who is tak- Gov. Smith's friends SPIRIT OF NEW ITALY WILL SAVE MUSSOLINI| ACCOMPLISHMENTS CITED Nation Demands Strong Man to Protect|Results Far Surpass*“Wildest Hopes” That Were Entertained for Success, Writer Destinies—Figure of Duke of Aosta Looms Up. BY OLIVER OWEN KUHN. Into the inner spnctum of the go ernor's palace in Trieste where I sat, strode a tall, vigorous, handsome and exceedingly magnetic man in the uni- form of an Ttalian general. His per- sonality was overwhelming. He breathed of vital forces, courage and straightforwardness. As one recalled the historic struggle of Italian forces on the Carso, subsequent emergence under this man’s leadership from an impossible situation when the Aus- trians smashed through the Italian lines in the Jullan Alps, thereby bringing disastrous retreat to the line of the Palve, as one recalled the brilliant part Italy's second army played in subsequent offensive which swept the Austrians from out of northern Italy, inftiating eventual col- lapse of the. whole Teutonic mili- tary scheme of things in the World ‘War, one understood why it was this ‘man, no other than the Duke of Aosta, should have led Italian forces to their greatest glory. In the light of events that have transpired since that day in Trieste when he so graciously recetved me discussed the battles of the not A Coved human strugzls one of his remarks is never to be forgtten. With an earnestness that would have brought foreboding to those that might oppose him, but eves alight with a patriotic fervor seldom seen, he exclaimed with ‘firmness, every syllable cutting Its way into one’s consciousness. ‘Italy now has a new destiny. Italy is reclaimed to Italy and to the world."” Same Spirit in Fiume. The force of that remark clung. Later when I entered Fiume, where D'Annunzio, the poet, sat amidst his armed legions to hoid that Adriatic inst his own governmen! oD he World if need be, in the ldea that it was rigthfully Italy’s and should ever remain so, despite efforts of statesmen in Paris to the contrary, one found the spirit of the Duke of osta everywhere. A% night mave been expeoted, D'An- nunzio's legions were recruited from the younger element of Italian life. It was not that the men had taken their stand for the mere sake of Fiume. It was not that they sought personal adventure for the moment. But every man of them stood determined to see realized Italy’s destinies, in the face ©of week-kneed Italian negotiators in Paris. Ttaly's efforts in the war could not be minimized, they insisted, if Italy’s future place in the sun should be in- sured. No longer should Italy enter world counsels with supplication in- stead of insistence. There should bs fanned to white heat a natlional con- sciousness—one that would forever stand guard over the nation’s desti- nies. Italy had been reborn in the fire of bloody battle. Younger Italy had carried Italian colors to glorious victory, and the fruits thereof should be protected by the youth of Italy in or out of the army.. All -were dis- gusted with temporizing and equivo- cation pursued by Italy's after-the- war patriots in charge of the gov- ernment in Rome. There must be,this protection, they argued, if the.youth of Italy had to obtain it by means of revolution against existing regimes and govern- mental forms. There must be no bar- tering, no lagging, but determined, forward-looking endeavor. Sly winks and the remark, “We will see you in Rome,” but outwardly indicated the smoldering determinations of Italy's youth. . Later in Milan and in Turin as well as in the Italian colony of Paris one heard the remark, “Italy must be redeemed. Italy must advance!” And when-Mussolini took -the helm and crystallized this spirit of the youth of Italy in what Is known as Fascisti he found in every nook and corner of the land ready respon; from those elements, which, spurred ta the heights of nationalism, in- sisted that there be no temporizing with those interests inimical to Italy's advance. When it appeared that the weak Giolitti and Facta gov- ernments would go under because of the rising tide of Communism, when it appeared that the historic traditions of the nation were to pass with application of bolshevist theories and that all the fruits of the war would be lost through a temporizing government, Mussolini's hour struck. He moved in October 22, 1923, with results of which the world 1s well acquainted. And, as one recalls the very in- ception of the fascismo movement and hears of Premier Mussolini's purported intention of seating Duke of Aosta on the throne should the present monarch procrastinate or waver in furthering the will of the nation as against older political ele- ments arrayed against the regime, one recalls that day in Trieste when the iron-willed duke declared force- fully: “Italy now has a new destiny. Italy is reolaimed to Italy and to the world.” One visions the panicky flight of the forces of disintegration before the firm wills of two of Italy's greatest modern-day leaders, the famous soldier and the famous revo- lutionist, both committed to complete realization of the natlon’s destinfes. Both are admirers of each other and the natlon admires them both. Rights Are Demanded. Italy after the war has not been content with milk-and-water courses in any pursuit, particularly states- craft. Italy has demanded a govern- ment that not only would rectify the hideous economic and social condi- tions that arose as a result of the war, but also has demanded, through the insistence of the younger ele- ments, that Italy’s standards be flung" in the far places and that her rights be respected in international coun- sels, Mussolini has done much toward alleviating disintegration arising during and after the war. Italy'’s financfal rehabilitation has been satisfactory and industry, de- spite disturbed political conditions, has revived under his regime. Italy likes strong men, and Mussolini has proved one, much as peoples of other natlons disagree with his methods. Though King Victor Emmanuel be demo- cratic and popular with a large portion of his peoples, it cannot be denied that the Italian people as a whole would be even greater pleased with a much stronger man in the Quirinal, one that would absolutely insure realization of that nationalistic epirit which is sweep- ing the country and apparently destined to persist, judiciously or otherwise. The recent Italian crisis has demon- strated the strength of Mussolini and the apparent willingness of the people to flock behind a strong leader. It still remains a eituation, however, that is fraught with many possibllities, not the least of these being a change in the present royal house. King Victor Em- manuel repeatedly has stated that when he finds that the people of the nation want another ruler he will not resist, but gladly comply with their wishes. The danger to the present King lies in his clinging to advieers of old, not the least of these being former Premier Glolitti, a Liberal arrayed with the op- position to Mussolin!'s regime. The future fate of Italy will be writ- ten in elections which will be held with- in the course of the next few months. Mussolini has promised an electoral re- form bill. This provides that the ma- jority vote shall decide the personnel of Parliament. The old European party eystem is abandoned under the Mus- solini plan. The Parllament is to act ‘on the electoral bill during the coming week, and it is believed that immedi- ately after this body will be dissolved, as wished for by Mussolini. Mussolini is ready to go before the people to gain indorsement of his policies and defeat nis enemies at the polls, notwithstand- {Countinued on Third Page.) “First, sectionallsm must be eliminated. ures must be put out of mind. “Racial and religlous distinctions must be eliminated and preferment founded on merit Senator Copeland, who, it will be recalled, long ago characterized Gov. Alfred E. Smith of New York as a “Venus de Milo” in politics, is also intent upon getting another leader of the Democratic party in the State of New York, that post being now, by general acclaim yielded to Gov. Smith. He wants to £0 upstate for a new leader. term “boss,” as appliefl to a State leader. holds that a political party should be made up voluntary units flocking to a standard common beliefs. chosen leader of such a party,” he contends, “is no more a boss or dictator than is the managing director of a corporation.an abso- leader in the State Democracy. The threatened deadlock between the gov- ernor and the Legislature is assuming alarm- promising grave detriments to the public interests in the failure of enact- constructive Smith sent his message to the longest ever delivered It covered a great number of pro- the governor's recommendations he is in con- flict with the Republican majority in the Leg- of them. consideration, publicans met this by the introduction of four bills favored by the governor for which they can be inflicted upon his political status by the failure of the Legislature to act favorably ILEAGUE FIVE YEARS OLD; The three outstanding performances or fail- with proposal veto, likely, it is On course. He resents the He “The upon his recommendations. They say he will be in the position of the man who exclaimed, “Heaven knows I asked for fish!” The quesjion also arises whether the Re- publicins may not find themselves “in ba the public if some of the governor's suggestions for legislation are ignored on par- tisan srounds. cans Ii7s in the fact that they cannot pass any of their own over the Some of the governor's suggestions are The weakness of the Republi- governor's said, to meet with popular favor, and tho public may resent being deprived of remedi«l legislation solely on the grounds of party politics. such a question as dry legislation, of there opinion which makes a party question. governer favors strict enforcement under the existing law. offered a drastic dry measure. probably will be no legislation at all upon this subject. Another important question before the Leg- islaturs is the use and control of the water is the @ifference of political The The Republicans have already The outcome power of the State; whether it shall be pri- Rt vately operated under the leasing system or controlled and operated by the State. will be a sharp clash between business inter- ests desiring to utilize the water power and the conservationists, who fear that the vast water-nower projects may fall into the control There of monopolists. of his fight for another legislation. Last in Of 19 major points in The governor plead- and the Re- R contend that no harm is certain, Says—>55 BY MANLEY 0. HUDSON. Yesterday, January 10, 1925, was the fifth birthday of the League of Nations. It marked a complete perfod in the life of that experiment. When the covenant first came Into effect on January 10, 1920, few people dared to entertain the hopes which expe- rience now seems to justify, and the passing of this milestone tempts a look back over the course that the league has run. They have been five stormy years. The world has been absorbed in an effort to pull itself together after the most devastating struggle in human history. When the period began the dissolutions of governments, the dis locations of commerce and the dis- tractions of public opinion had cre- ated political problems on a scale of unprecedented difculty and magni- tude. The war had shifted all the normal channels of intercourse. Na- tional rivalries had been stimulated, national ambitions had become in- flated, and a trail of fostering sores From the indulgence tasies about the war's making over our human institutions, the werld suddenly shifted to a desire to get back to the old pre-war ways of life. The chief concern of the post-war world became an effort to restore normalcy. In diplomacy, as in other fields, the old . methods Were Te- trieved, and their previous fallure was discounted. Hence, the League of Nations soon fell between two Stools—the new departure and the old diplomacy. Diculties Were Inevitable. It was inevitable that the League of Nations as a method of co-opera- tion should meet with difficulties. They constitute its ralson d'etre. It would never have been undertaken it they had not been in prospect. Yet few foresaw how formidable they would be. FEach year during the five there has been some out- standing challenge. In 1920 it was the Polish-Russian war and the flasco of the excursion to Kiev. In 1921 it was Upper Silesia and the traglo necessity for some decision. In 1922 it was the Greco-Turkish confiict and the catastrophe of Smyrna. In 1923 s was the crisls of Corfu and the deflance of & great power {solated by world opinion. In 1924 it was Egypt and the shocking reminder that states and peoples do not divide along the same frontler: Each year the doubting and the fear- ful have found materials with which to feed their doubts and their fea Each year men who make a gospel of the futility of effort have had fresh reason for saying that the world must g0 on in the paths which converge at Armageddon. Each year overindulged hopes have been shat- tered and overstated clalms refuted. ‘WIll Not Drop League. Yot such power is wielded in hu- man affairs by the fait accompli, €0 strong is the tendency to go on with a course begun, that there has been little thought of abandoning the ex- periment, and few are the peoble to- day who contemplate that it will ever be abandoned. The world of cur time could certainly not have been brought to the League of Natlons without n cataclysm of some kind. And when it came in the form of a war that took a toll of 10,000,000 lives the pressure would probably have been insufficient even then if all the dif- ficulties experienced in thess five years could have been foreseen. Yet the world of our time will pretty cer- tainly not be brought to give up the league without some far greater cata- clysm than anything which these five years have brought. In 1920 and 1921 activities in the League of Nations were conditioned by the thought in men's minds, “If the league lives In 1923 and 1924 the condition has given way to the fact. It is now assumed that the league will live. The talk of substi- tutes has subsided The cxisting “Never again, they drew a sigh of relief over having dis- posed of the unanimous consent agreement which held the Muscle Shoals bill before the Senate in a position which would have made it impossible to consider anything else if any Senator had been of a mind to filibuster. they say, unanimous consent zgreement is proposed the Senate it will be examined with a micro- scope betore it is granted. * K K ¥ In Congress it is felt that the danger of tie failure of one or more of the appropriation bills n-cessitating an extra session has passed. Rapld work on the blils up to this dafe and the dieposition of the Muscle Shoals obstruction to legislation in the Y having practically cleared the way for wind- ing up all the routine necessary legislation in time for a getaway March 4. Senate are classed as o said the Senate leaders, as It that the next time a in Nations Hold Membership. league seems to have become an in- ternational fixture. Perhaps the best criterion of judg- ment may be found in a comparison of the record of these five years with the aspirations for International or- ganization in men’s minds during the decade preceding the war. From 1904 to 1914 the most that any of us dared to hope for was a continuation of periodics conferences at The Hague. In 1904 President Roosevelt began his effort to assemble 2 second peace conference at The Hague. The con- ference met, after prolonged nego- tiations, in 1907. From 1507 to 1914 the utmost end of effort was the as- sembling of a third Hague confer- ence in 1915 or 1916. It was not that any one expected such conferences to grapple with the most significant problems of current international life. It was not that any one en- visaged the co-ordination and regular development of normal co-operative intercourse among peoples. It was not that any one expected substantial progress to be made toward ridding the world of war. But many men were convinced, certainly the leaders of American thought were convinced, that a‘conference of the powers every 8 or 10 years would, in-time, yield some good results. The efforts to crystallize the artificlal system of sea law, which the naval powers had allowed to grow up in the ninetesnth century, were uppermost in many minds. ‘But the first Hague confer- ence did buyild a scaffold of machinery for the pacific settlement of disputes, and the second Hague conference did reach its high-water mark in a decla- ration that compulsory arbitration was desirable in principle. A third Hague conference might have gone still further and, after elaborating the law governing the use of sea power, it might have given us an in- ternational prize court. Many Parleys Held. But in five years we seem to have leaped a whole century beyond the second Hague conference, It is a short period, but one can almost say that it has been long enough for a tradition and a habit of perlodic in- ternational conference to become mc- cepted. In each of the five years, an international conference has assem- bled at Geneva with more powers Tepresented than were represented at either of The Hague conferences of 1899 and 1307. In each of the past six years an international labor con- ference has met at Washington or Genoa or Geneva, with more powers represent- ed than were represented at either of the Bern conferences of 1806 and 1913. In five years, 33 mestings have been held of a smaller international conference called a council, replacing to some extent the old Buropean con- cert. And during this brief semi- decade, numerous special interna- tional conferences have been dealing with such problems as those of transit. and communications, of the traffo in women and children, of customs for- malities, of the circulation of obscene publications, of the traffic in opium and dangerous drugs. Plan Generally Accepted. In short, these five years have brought the world to a general ac- ceptance of the conference method of handling international affairs, and the spasmodic employment of this method during the generation prior to 1814 has given way to its organ- ized and continuous use. Today, on the calendars of 55 foreign offices of the world, the first Monday in Sep- tember is crossed as the date for the sssembling of a general world con- ference called the assembly of the League of Nations, and the current work in these forelgn offices is car- ried on with reference to the assem- bling every three months of a smaller conference called the council of the League of Natlons. Another ambition of the decade prior to 1914 has been realized fully. The Permanent Court of Arbl- tral Justios, which the Gevernment of JEALOUSY OF THREATENS SECTIONS PARK PLANS Fight of North Carolina and Tennessee Men Against Virginia Site May Kill Bill in Congress. BY HAROLD K. PHILIPS. ECTIONAL jealousy may cost the East its first real opportunity to have a great national park, an outdoor museum and wild mountain playground within reasonable reach of its entire popula- tlon, and make it forever impossible to create such a reservation worthy of the name this side of the Missis- sippl River. Forgetting all of thelr altruistic promises of last Summer, several of the areas that sought the honor of being chosen have turned upon the site In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia since its selection as “the outstanding area,” and are attempting to precipitate a fight in Congress, which it is predicted will only end in the creation of no park at all. Completely ignoring the fact that the Virginla area was chosen by a commission of disinterested national park experts, who wers gulded solely by thelr knowledge of what such a reservation should be, members of Congress from the dissatisfled dis- tricts have flooded the House and Senate with bills seeking to set aside the verdict of the official commission and make their own pet sections na- tional parks on the spot. Work Defines Position. Incensed by attempts of these groups to further their campaigns by insinuating that even he is dissatis- fled with the decision of the Southern Appalachian Mountaln National Park Commission, which he personally ap- pointed, Secretary of the Interior Hubert Work yesterday lssued a statement setting at rest for good and all any doubt as to his enthusi- asm over the spot picked out for the first Eastern national park, and the second report strongly recommending the establishment of another reser- vation later in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. The statement, which was inspired by a printed announcement by mem- bers of the North Carolina congres- sional delegation to the effect that it was not certain that Secretary Work would adopt the report, but might recommend creation of sev- eral parks, instead, placed Dr. Work unqualifiedly behind the choice of his committeemen. It read as fol- lows: Indorses Virginia Site. “The Southern Appalachian tional Park Commlission, appointed last year and which re- cently made its report, recommend- ed the Blue Ridge of Virginia as the logical place for the location of the first national park in the East. This report has been approved by me and forwarded to Congress. The committee also pointed out that the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and North Carolina surpassed all other regions in their avallability as & site for a national park in the East. I am convinced a second na- tional park should be established there. ‘At the present time legislation is pending in Congrees for the creation of a commission to Investigate and report to Congress the possibility and cost of acquisition of the pro- posed site in the Blue Ridge Moun- tains of Virginia. An appropriation of $10,000 is included to cover the necessary expense of this inquiry. It is my opinion that this commission, instead of confining its work to the Blue Ridge site, should also be au- thorized by Congress to Investigate into the cost of establishing a se —_— % 2 S Na- which I the United States advocated on many occasions during that period, and Wwhich the second Hague conference failed to establish in 1907, has now become a reality in the Permanent Court of International Justice which the machinery of the /League of tions enabled the powers to create during 1920 and 1921. Court Working Three Years. For three years, now, the world has had just such a court as was advo- cated by Secretary Elihu Root when he instructed the American delega- tion to the second Hague conference to seek the development of the Per- manent Court of Arbitration “into a permanént tribunal composed of judges who are judicial officers and nothing else, who are paid adequate salaries, who have no other ocoupar tion, and who will devote their entire time to the trial and decision of in- ternational cases by judicial methods and under a sense of judicial respon- sibility.” In three years the new court has handed down 12 opinions, each of which 'has contributed to advancing the settlement of some vexing inter- national problem, and all of which, taken together, constitute a signifi- cant contribution to international case daw. The existence of the court has proved important, also, in that it has facilitated the enlargement of treaty law—notably in a remarkable recent treaty between Italy and Swit- erland—and has contributed to the direct settlement of acute problems by the foreign offices themselves—as in the recent treaty between France and Switzerland. Cheered by Accomplishment. Now if one compares the actual achlevements during this semi-dec- ade with the aspirations so widely volced during the decade prior to 1914, it seems to me clear that the accomplishments of the League of Nations surpass the wildest hopes that were entertained before the ex- periment was begun. The actual course of development probably co- incides with the prevision of very few people. The words written in the covenant did not foretell it with much socuracy. No more did the words written in the Constitution of the United States foretell the develop- ment of our Federal institutions. And there are yet wide flelds within which the future development of the league cannot now be foreseen—with refer- ence to the role of the British domin- ions, for example. In 1920 few people foresaw such achievements of the League of N tions as the financial reconstruction of Austria, or the financial recon- structions of Hungary, or the recent financing of refugee settlement meas- ures undertaken in Greece. Few peo- Dle foresaw the extent to which effort and intelligence would be brought to bear on the world's heaith problem. And certainly. few foresaw the poli- tical importance, in connection with the post-war settlement of the main- tenance of agencies for encouraging the protection of raclal, religious and itnguistic minoritles in eastern Eu- rope On the other hand, most of the difficulties which worried people when the experiment of the League (Continued on Third Page.) ond national Smoky area. “Of the existing 19 national parks, all with the exception of one are located in the Western States. It is time that a definite policy be adopted for the creation of at least two na- tional parks in the Eastern section for the benefit of its millions of in- habitants who live in densely popu- lated communities. As a matter of fact, the people of the East are prob- ably more In need of opportunities for outdoor life than any other part of the country. “The proposed national park in the Blue Ridge Mountains, with its scenio and recreational qualities, will draw visitors from a population of 40.000,000 inhabitants. A second national park in the Smoky Mountains area in Ten- nessee and North Carolina will also glve outdoor recreational facllities to many milllons more In the South, These proposed sites are identical in area, both are small for national park purposes and one should be operated to supplement the other.” Commission Disinterested. No member of the Southern Appala- chian Mountaln Park Commission, it is pointed out, had any Interests in Virginia, or the Blue Ridge area that was finally selected. The chairman of the committee s Dr. Henry W. Tem- ple, Representative in Congress from Pennsylvania; Col. Glenn S, Smith of the United States Geological Survey, Maj. W. A. Welch of the Palisades Interstate Park, Harlan P. Kelsey of the Appalachian Mountain Club and Willlam C. Gregg of the National Arts Club were the other members. While the members of this commit- tee were examining the score or more of sites that were seeking the honor of selection last Summer and late into the Fall, they particularly point- ed out to each that should they fall to be' chosen, they must not refuse to get quickly behind the more for- tunate section in order to assure the East having a natfonal park. All according to members of the commi sion, eagerly promised But scarcely had the committes a: nounced selection of the site in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia as “the outstanding area In the Eas fhan two or three of the areas in North Carolina and Tennessee began introducing bills asking Congress to create their sections as natlo parks, merely on the strength of the bill declaring them to be suitable for such purposes. Bills Ask Action. There are two bills seeking to make the Blue Ridge Mountain section of North Carolina, known as Grand- father Mountain, a park, despite the fact that members of ths committee frankly announced that it is not even suitable for such a purpose. Al- though the scenery quite attrac- tive there, it has been pointed out, the area is less than half as large as either the Virginia or Tennessee sites, is crossed by at least two railroads and has a number of automobile roads running into it which are thickly populated When the Southern Appalachian Mountain National Park Committes was first created it set down a num- ber of rules that each member pledged himself not to violate. One of these provided that the proposed park should cover an area of at least 600 square miles; another was that it must be wild, in its natural state, without having been chopped up by man; and, third, that no site orossed by a rallroad could be considered, since the Government must be o possessor of everything in the park. Consider Site Barred. That, according to leading members | of the committee, put the Grandfather Mountain section out of the running at the outset, and it has been defi- | nitely stated that such an area would not have been seriously considered even if other finer, larger areas had not been found in ample numbers, bits of natural wonderland answering every requirement laid down by men who have made the creation of na- tional parks—masterpieces. in the Nation’s gallery of natural wonders— their life mission. Although several measures have also been Introduced in the House of Representatives seeking to have the Great Smoky Mountain area of Te nesses and North Carolina purchas as a national park, an agreement be- tween the organizations that are be- hind that projeot and those that are boosting the selected Virginia site h.h!] r:"lrlu}al’l‘y been reached, under which each has pledged its o the other. g s Three outstanding factors domi- nated the selection of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia by a unani. mous and enthusiastio vote. Firs it meets every scenic and natural re- quirement prescribed by the commit- tee; second, it is within a singie day's ride of 40,000,000 city-bound Americans, the people who neeq a national park as a haven where they may bufld anew worn-out minds and bodies, and, third, within a radfus of 150 miles of it are more places of tremendous historic importance to Americans than anywhere else in the Nation, Climate Most Favorable. Climatically, too, it outstrips all of its rivals. Thers would not be a single month of any normal year that the park would have to be closed. Spring, Summer and Fall the summits of those mountain peaks are veritable cloud-kissed dream lands, and in Winter they can be made into an Amerfcan Alps, plac where every kind of Winter sport skilng, sleighing, tobogganing, ice skating—may be enjoyed by every olass of society. Charges of unfairness, too, it is declared, cannot be made over the selection of the Virginia site. It was the very last to enter the competi- tion, and came so late, in fact, that the commissioners barely had time to examine it before the cold weather set in. Several members admitted that they made the trip purely out of courtesy, expecting to find nothing in that reglon worthy of becoming a national park, and came away a week later simply overwhelmed with the wondrous beauties they had seen. Before and since that visit other men who have visited all of the na- tional parks in the country have ex- amined it, and pronounced it equal in beauty to any park in the West. In addition, its geographic situation and condition will make it possible to convert it into a real park at far less expense and in much less time than any other area that was considered by the committeemen. It is to be- come, within a few vears, the Yellow- stone of the Kast, If plans un- der contemplation are not thwarted by “spit balls” and sectional Jjealousy, park in the Great according to those who have the proj- ect in charge.