Evening Star Newspaper, August 9, 1925, Page 37

EDITORIAL SECTION he Sundlay Star - WASHINGTON, D. C, EDITORIAL PAGE NATIONAL PROBLEMS SPECIAL FEATURES Part 2—12 Pages SUNDAY MORNING, AUGUST 9, 1925. FRANCE CAN PAY DEBT IF PEOPLE ARE TAXED Evidences of Prosperity Present a Strange Contrast to Tales of Burdens Resulting from the War. BY SHELDON S. CLINE. ARIS—After observing condi- tions in England, in_Germany and in Italy. it Is difficult to discover in France evidences of “war burdens” we have Yeard so much about. There is here no army of the unemployed. = There are no signs of a people underfed and undernourished. There is poverty, o course, as there always is in any great population, but there was pov- erty in France befoge the war and I am sured it is reialively no greater today than it was in 1914 or,any other pre-war year o On the contrary, France is prosper- ous—far more prosperous, both seem- ingly and actually, than an other great Iuropean nation. This state- ment is supported both by visible evi- dence and by official government sta- tstics the case of the wage earners. zures obtained from the Ministry of Labor show that the mar- Ein hetween income and necessary outgo i ter than it was before The increased margin for is estimated at 10 per cent married waz worker with a A part of this increase un- ubtedly is taken up by ard of living, but not all of it. still are a thrifty people. Busy and Making Money. at Is true of the wage earner e of the agricultural classes, of engaged in_industry and in ¢ erybody is busy, everybody {¢ making money and has a margin for saving and investment. Why, then, it will be asked, is the French government seemingly so hard up? Why is there such difficulty in ralancing the budget and so much bout inability to pay debts? and solely because no French government has dared impose on the ¥rench people the necessary taxation If the French people were taxed as heavily as the British people are there would be no budget deficit, despite the enormous cost of France's huge mili- tary establishment and the loans she has made and is continuing to make to her continental allies. When Cail- Jaux came back to power there was talk that at last France had a finance minister with the courage to lay on the taxes. Caillaux’s program, as now disclosed, is more severe than that of his immediate predecessors, but it still lacks a lot of being drastic when compared with taxation in Great Britain The only large class in France suf- fering from post-war conditions is the same class that is suffering from like conditions all over the world. It con- sists of those persons whose incomes are derived from fixed investments. Such persons have been hit hard in France because of the depreciation of the franc, but no harder than they have been hit in Italy, and not so hard as in Germany, ‘here such in- vestments were practically wiped out in the debacle of the mark. But there is suffering in France on this ac- count, suffering that is widespread, be- cause the thrifty French were a na- tlon of investors. That, however, has little bearing on the ability of the government to gather taxes. Taxes,in the main, must come from new wealth as it s created, and France is creating new wealth as never before. Bears on the War Debt. This discussion of taxation is a nec- essary preface to consideration of the Bhicd pectiot the auestionigtithe dabt owed by the French government to the Government of the United States. In previous articles I discussed the willingness of France to pay and the intention to pay. Now we come to ability to pay. A lot is going to be heard about this matter of ability to pay when the commissioners repre- senting the French government arrive in Washington to discuss with the American commission the matter of funding the French debt. There will be a lot of propaganda put out to show that France is hard up and that many years must eldpse before France can begin payments. But the French commissioners are going to talk to American commissioners who are well informed as to conditions in France and over whose eves it will be difficult to pull any wool. It is not probable the American commission will insist, in view of the situation of the French government, that ‘rance shall begin payments imme- tely, but it is likely the American commission will in: that France agree upon a time begin such payments. In other words, France can have a moratorium and probably conc ions as to interest rates, with a long period of years in which to pay, but the principal sum of the debt must be recognized and pro- vision made for its liquidation. a_higher { points: hen France will | tent in France as is found in the United States. One of the bisgest and most vital facts which impresses itself upon the “hserver is that there is no sense of overpopulation in France. On. the | contrary, France is encouraging im- migration to make up for the loss of man power in the war. There is work for every. one who wants work 1t wages which the French workers cannot help but find highly satisfac- tory. Of course, there is not complete industrial peace. That is not to be expected in any great industrial na- tion, especially with a people as highly temperamental as are the French. When the long-time view is taken there are factors other than the pres- ent and prospective prosperity of France which justify the belief that, ziven time and considerate terms, ¥rance can pay the principal of the sums she owes the United States and England. The French debt to the United States is slightly over $4,000,- 000,000 and to Great Britain slightly under $3,000,000,000, or about $7,000,- 000,000 in all. To offset this there is owed to France by other governments a little less than $3,000,000,000, of which $1,111,000,000 is owed by Rus- ia. It has been the habit in France to regard all these debts as uncol- lectable, but the present outlook does not justify this contention. Some of the governments which are debtors of France already have funded their debts to the United States and it is 2 reasonable expectation that in time they will fund and begin payments on their debts to France. I find well informed opinion that in time the force of world opinion will: compel even Russia to recognize and under- take payments of her external debts. Effect of French Example. None of France's debtors has yet undertaken funding operations, and the reason is quite obvious. So long as France was talking about cancel- lation or repudiation of her own debts her creditors cherished the hope that they also might profit by that easy way out. They abandoned hope that they could escape from their debts to America and have either funded or are proposing funding negotiations. They will follow the same course with respect to France when, by abandon- ing her own hope of escape, France destroys a like hope in the breasts of her debtors. As I said in a previous article, France needs enlightenment as to the American viewpoint with respect to the war debts. French political leaders have not dared tell their peo- ple the truth about the American debt, just as they did not dare for years to tell their people the truth about German reparations. And there are only a few leaders of French thought outside of political life who seem to have either the courage or the desire to tell .the truth. Tt is refreshing, therefore, to find Stephane Lauzanne in his newspaper, Le Matin, striving to set the French people in the way of right thinking. My attention was directed to an editorial he published some time ago, which was so fair a presentation of the case that I clipped it for my files. M. Lauzanne has made many trips to the United States and knows American modes of thought and he manifestly is anxious to do justice to both the American and the French points of view. In discussing the debt argument is based on two main First, that the dollars loaned to the French were worth at the time from 5 to 6 francs only, while the dollars needed to repay the loan are worth at the present time from 19 to 20 francs; and, secondly, that France borrowed and expended these dollars, not for herself, but for the benefit of a community of which America formed a part, and that this community of interests should operate to cancel some, if not the greater part, of any debt of this kind. can reply to these points as follows First, that it was dollars, and not fran that Americ loaned to France; and, secondly, that while the idea of this community of interests certainly existed in the hearts of the peoples who fought together, “it never existed in the financial accounting or the payments incident to the war ex- penditures.” United States Paid for Services. As a proof that this community of interests was not recognized on the allles’ side, M. Lauzanne quotes As. sistant Secretary of the Treasury ‘Winston as saying that when the United States sent its 2,000,000 sol- diers to the German front it had to ask England for the ships to carry them across the Atlantic and France problem M. Lauzanne says the French | M. Lauzanne sums up the Ameri- | Friends of Army Fear Its Efficiency May Be Impaired by Economic Program BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. T times it is more economical to spend money than not to spend it. It is not practicing economy to permit a huge industrial plant to deteriorate for lack of funds. No more is it economy to per- mit a great national defense plant to suffer.for lack of the necessary money to keep it up. Yet there is great danger that the administra- ton's economy program may seriously hamper both the Army and Navy. The economy pro- gram already has resulted in so curtailing appropriations for the Army that repairs to buildings occupled by the troops and officers are impossible; that men are housed in flimsy, temporary structures, some under canvas the year round, and even paint, necessary to pre- serve the buildings under use, cannot be pur- chased. The Army and Navy of the United States are costing the people money. But so are the police forces in American citles and towns and law enforcement officers in the rural sections. No one suggests doing away with the police— not even the pacifists. On a Peace-Time Footing. The Army and Navy have been reduced to peace-time proportions since the World War, the Army in accordance with the National de- fense act. Indeed, the Army is below the authorized strength.. Since the Washington conference on the limitation of armaments the appropriations for the Navy have been kept down as low as possible. Without criticising the economy program of President Coolidge, a program which was sgreatly needed immediately after the war, and which has brought much desired results in re- duction of federal taxes and more efMcient methods of government, it may be suggested that too much economy, when it comes to National defense, is almost as undesirable as waste, The budget for the fiscal year 1927 is in the making. What's it going to bring forth for the Army and for the Navy? President Coolidge not very many weeks ago said that he had ask- ed for a survey in both the War and Navy De- partments to ascertain just what saving, if any, could be made, and what appropriations for the services could be pared down. Immedi- ately it was declared in some quarters that the President intended still further to cut down the Army and the Navy—or at least to grant them less money. The President, however, at the time he announced this survey, made it clear that if such a survey did not warrant further reductions {n appropriations and ex- penditures he would not ask them. These sur- veys have been made, and they Indicate, it is said, that little money can be spared by either the Army or the Navy without impairment of efficiency. A Question of Increases. Indeed, so far as the Army is concerned, it is no longer a case of how much can be cut down. Rather, the question is, How long can the Army continue without increased appropria- tions for miaintenance and repair of material? John W. Weeks, Secretary of War, has fought in season and out during the five years and more that he has held that office against ham- stringing the Army. He has made an excellent Secretary of War for other reasons than that, however. The business administration of the War Department has been as good, if not bet- ter, than ever before in its history. Economies have been made, greater efficiency developed and huge surplus war supplies have been dis- posed. of as advantageously as -possible. For the last two years the material plant of the Army hag been allowed to run gowis.hill, temporarily it is hoped, in the intersst of im- mediate economy. It was known at the time that the day would come when this would ne- cessitate greater expense to recover from the deterioration. And that day has come. In his last annual report the Secretary of War said: “Our National needs have increased along with the increase in our national population. Our Army is larger than it was 15 years ago, and 40,000 members of the Army are now under un- suitable shelter. Some of them have been under canvas Summer and Winter for many years.” As has already been indicated, the appropria- tions for the Army and Navy are considerable. The total appropriation for the War Depart- ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1926, was $341,174,771. This sum, however, is di- vided as follows: Strictly military appropria- tlons, $262,134,050; non-military, _including rivers and harbors work, $70,305,355, and for the Panama Canal, which comes under the Jjurisdiction of the War Department, $8,775,366. In search of further governmental economy, not unnaturally an effort is made to see if the appropriations for the military establishment may not be Jopped off here and there. It is no secret that friends of the Army are hoping for the return of Secretary Weeks to his desk in the War Department by the end of the Summer, ready to continue his fight for the Army and nsilitary efficienicy. Reports of his im- proved physical condition have been received here with much satisfaction. His opinions have much weight with President Coolidge and with Congress, where he served for years as a mem- ber of the House and later as Senator. The serfousncss of the situation regarding the maintenance of the Army is reflected today in the large “turnover’” in the enlisted person- nel. Men who in the past would have re-enlist- ed and made the Army a career fail to re-en- list in large numbers, and the reason given is that they are not properly housed. Further- more, the ration is declared in many posts to be Inadequate—not to maintain life, but to give a reasonably diversified and palatable diet. In some places, the mess is augmented by pur- chases made with funds indirectly derived from the men themselves. A big turnover in per- sonnel does not make for the greatest efficlency in the Army any more than it does for eff ciency in an industrial plant. And efficiency in as Army means added National defense. Bad Conditions at Post. Take a few instances of the conditions under which the Army lives. At Fort Sam Houston, Tex., the largest Army post In the country, con- ditions are said to be deplorable. Troops are quartered in the temporary buildings con- structed during the war and regarded merely as makeshifts. Officers’ quarters are inadequate, and millions of dollars’ worth of equipment are stored in fllmsy frame bufldings. The great aviation headquarters at Kelly Field and at Brooks Field the officers’ quar- ters, barracks, hangars and storehouses are all of the 1917 temporary construction. A fire on a windy night might wipe out two-thirds of the Army’s air equipment, centered at these posts. Similar conditions prevail at Scott Field, 1il,, headquarters for the lighter-than-air serv- ce. Not long ago at Fort Sill fire destroyed more than a hundred of the quarters used for offi- cers. There is no money to reconstruct them. The permanent stations of the 5th and 13th Infantry Regiments in coast defense posts in Portland and Boston are regarded as only makeshitts. Conditions at Boston Harbor are regarded as especially unsatisfactory. Recom- mendation has been made for the construction of one or more permanent posts on the main- land for the 18th Infantry Brigade, which com- prises these two regiments. This is in the 1st Corps Area. In the other corps areas con- ditions are reported to be as bad, or worse. In the 3rd Corps Area, for example, the shelter for troops, for hospitalization and for supplles at Fort Hoyle and Fort Eustis is insufficient. The training plant at Camp McClellan, in the 4th Corps Area, is composed of temporary buildings, which it is sald can last only a year or two longer. Yet it is at this camp that the Organized Reserves, the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and the citizens' military training camps receive their Summer training. Barracks at Bolling Field. The barracks at Bolling ¥leld, the District of Washington, are declared to be unsuitable and of temporary construction. The sick rate higher there than at other station in the district, and is said to be due to the poor drain- age and the type of building used by the com- mand. Indeed, so far as the Air Service is con- cerned, with the exception of a few isolated permanent buildings, the entire lot of bulldings was constructed during the war, in a hurry and designed to last but for a year or two. Getting farther away, it is reported that sev- eral bulldings occupied as barracks at Manila might well be sald to be uninhabitable, and the barracks and quarters at Camp Stotsenburg are as bad. ‘under which men and officers must live in These examples of poor conditions in the mil- itary plant of the United States indicate how too great economy is reacting. The conditions many of the posts are most undesirable. Furthermore, a day of reckoning is approaching when it will be necessary to expend large sums to meet the situation. The appropriations for the War Department, it is declared, are already cut down to the very bone. In the two years preceding the entry of the United States into the World War the ap- propriations for the War Department, in round numbers, were $177,000,000 in 1915, and $184,- 000,000 in 1916. In 1917 they jumped to $405.- 000,000, and in 1918 to $7,549,000,000, and in 1919 to $15,459.000,000. Then, in descending scale, the appropriations have run as follows: 1920, $866,000,000: 1921, $493,000,000; 1922, $397,000,- 000; 1923, $346,000,000; 1924, $349.,000,000; 1925, $334,000,000, and 1926, $341,000,000. Army Costs Higher Today. Costs of food, construction, transportation, the pay of the Army, all have been greatly in creased since the period before the war. Fur- thermore, the Army Is reaching out further and further with its Air Service; a new service, the Chemical Service has been instituted, and the Tank Corps has been established. The present appropriations for the Army, therefore, do not appear large, in light of these changes. There are, too, the activities of the Reserve Officers’ training camps, the citizens' military training camps, and the military training given at the colleges, which have greatly increased or have been added since the war. The Army today finds difficulty at times in making transfers of men and officers, merely because the money for transportation is not at hand. The War Department itself has worked out many economies. It is essential under these plans to keep on hand necessary material to meet a war emergency, say, to equip a Regular Army, the National Guard and the Organized Reserves for several months, until the fac- torfes producing ammunition, ordnance, uni- forms, etc., can turn them out in the quantities needed. The life of many of these supplies is about 20 years. They must be used or thrown away at the end of such a period. The training camps for the citizens, the Reserve Officers, the Organized Reserves, as well as the Regular Army, all serve a useful purpose in disposing of these supplies each year, and each year the supplies’ are replenished. This is practicing economy. Otherwise large quantities of these supplies necessarily would be thrown away as they became worthless. Plans to Avert Confusion. The finance department is able to say how many saddles, how many blankets, how many of any part of the equipment needed for the Army will be required in case of emergency. If another war breaks, the confusion and waste that were attendant upon the entry of the United States into the World War, when huge orders were placed for articles that never were needed, will be absent. Since the war the Army has had the benefit of surplus material purchased for war pur- poses. Nearly all of this surplus material has been disposed of. In other words, the Army has been living on “its fat,” 50 to speak. It will be necessary to purchase more supplies of one kind or another, now that the surplus has gone. It s evident, therefore, that to cut down the appropriations for national defense, with- out reducing efficiency and rendering living conditions {n the Army bad, will be a difficult task. It is possible that with a reduction of the personnel, and the same appropfiations or appropriations slightly reduced, the Army could get along much better so far as living condi- tions are concerned and the purchase of ade- quate supplies. But Secretary Weeks has set his face strongly against a reduction of the forces through this indirect route. The Army personnel is less today than provided for un- der the National defense act, and considerably smaller than that recommended for peace times by Gen. Pershing. Economies In the administration of the Na- tional defense are, of course, to be desired. But economies that result in lessening efficiency are most undesirablé. Too great economy in Na- tional defense might lead to disaster. MEMBERSHIP IN WORLD COURT BEFORE SENATE IN DECEMBER Prospects for Favorable Action Unless Reservations Are Attached Which Would Not Be Acceptable to Other Member Nations. BY HAMILTON HOLT. Former Editor of the Independent. On the 17th day of December the Senate of the United States begins the debate on the Permanent Court of International Justice. This debate, unless all signs fail, will continue long into the Winter, if not till Spring. ‘Will the Senate accept or reject this great tribunal, which that old Con- necticut “learned blacksmith,” Elthu Burritt, prophesied two generations ago that when it came into existence it would be ‘“the highest court of ap- peals this side the bar of eternal jus- tice,” and which our own Elihu Root has sald “is the latest institution wrought out by the civilized world's ful league. reservations get “by the Democratic Senators, but are rejected by the na- tion-members of the court, then the irreconcilable Senators will “get from under” by saying to the people: “Yes, we divorced the court from the shame- We Americanized it. now the wicked forelgn nations have rejected it. Didn't we always say they were unfit for a self-respecting De- mocracy like have anything to do with?" If the foregoing is a fair analysis of the court situation, it is evident that no time can be lost between now and December 17 by the supporters of the court if the President and Senate of ‘the United Btates are to'feel the full And not prevent; the United States to 4 liberation. BY LEWIS E. LAWES, Warden of Sing Sing Prison. The most horrible crime that can be committed is the killing of a human being, and, likewise, the most horrible ‘punishment is the killing of a human being. The first the community could | the second is accom- plished with premeditation and de- The fundamental theory of punish- ment is that it is used for deterrence, for retribution and for reformation, and in the case of capital punishment there is a further basis urged for its retention—the need of eliminating CAPITAL PUNISHMENT ATTACKED AS THEORETICALLY FALLACIOUS Impossible of Enforcement and Based on Theory Which Has Been Proved False, Its Abolition Is Urged. The light of modern penology is be- ginning to demonstrate that capital punishment is not a solution but an avoldance of the real problem; that many. crimes, even capital crimes, are the results of maladjustments of the person and not of any evil that is in- born and which cannot be cured, but must perish with the individual. Many murders occur under the stress of vio- lent emotions; others are the result of a sudden flash of anger. Where is the man who has not at some time in his life had the overwhelming impulse to kill? Sometimes the difference be- tween the penalty of death and that of a brief period in prison is but the space of a few inches measured on the “| vond Bolzano and Moran, Inquiry and observation here con- vince me that that is all the well informed section of French public opinion expects in the way of con- cessions; that all this talk about off- setting claims and about the poverty of France is merely a smoke screen. Those Frenchmen who are intelligent are too intelligent to think they can make the world believe that the ench nation and people are bank- rupt, however hard a fix the French treasury may find itself in the for the railroads to transport them across French territory and that the United States has been obliged to pay $500,000,000 for the boats and many millions of dollars for the raflroads. On the basis of these two arguments what is the best way to proceed? For M. Lauzanne the answer is plain. No use to ask France to pay anv- It would mean “But, in fact,” he says, and American result of political timidity on the part of successive French governments. Prosperity Cannot Be Hidden. Intelligent Frenchmen know that the major facts about conditions in France cannot be hidden from the world. They know that the world knows that as a result of the war France has a larger and more efficient industrial plant than ever before. That part of the industrial area of France which was destroyed by the German armies has now almost com- pletely been restored, and it has been restored in a manner to make pro- duction possible on a larger scale and at lower s. With Lorraine iron added to Saar coal, and with produc- tion at her restored mines almost if not quite back to pre-war levels, the iron and steel industry is in a strong position and is offering serious com- petition both to England and Ger- many. So the story runs throughout the French industrial areas. The woolen mills of Alsace-Lorraine are prosperous and already have found markets outside Germany for 40 per cent of their surplus products, although Germany was almost their sole market before the The com- petition of these mills felt so-| strongly in England that there is serious agitation for a British export duty on wool French cotton spinners also are prosperous, their improved plant equipment enabling them to compet in the world markets. The Lyon silk industry, of course, was not injured by the war and now finds itself in a highly satisfactory situation. The ag- ricultural industry has been almost fully restored and farmers are receiv- ing satisfactory prices for their croy + ghere is no svh agriculiural discon- friends haviny full authority, as far back as last November, clearly let M. Herriot understand that America was disposed to accord a moratorium. Suppose that this moratorium was for 10 years. We would have nothing then to pay until 1936. Ten years is a period of time which counts. In 10 years, if fortune favors us, we will be financially on our feet: And if we were not on our feet it would be always possible to appeal again to their generosity or refuse impossible } demands.” Debt Settlement Likely. It is because there are Frenchmen like Stephane Lauzanne, and because in the end the sound views of such Frenchmen must prevail, that I be- lieve the forthcoming negotiations at ‘Washington will produce a settlement satisfactory both to France and the United States. 1 know that both the American Government and the American people are disposed to be lenient with France once France abandons her policy of evasion and gets down to business. When I recall the satisfaction T found in England resulting from the fact that a settiement had been made of the British debt to America I am not apprehensive that a settlement of the French debt will cause any ver- manent or serious ill-feeling toward the United States. On the contrary, 1 think that once France makes up her mind that she must settle and proceeds to toe the mark we will be better friends than we have been for a long time. It is so as between indi- vidual creditors and debtors, and the psychology of nations is but the com- posite psychology of the individuals of which they are constituted. (Copsright. 102564 X1 general public opinion against war, for the purpose of giving effect to that opinion.” Aggressive Fight Needed. The answer to this question ap- parently lies in the hollow of Presi- dent Coolidge’s hand. If he makes an aggressive fight on the issue, his influence with the country, and through the country on his party as- soclates in the Senate, will surely bring enough lukewarm Senators into line to get the United States into the | court by a safe, perhaps a handsome, majority. Dispatches from Swamp- scott telling of the President’s con- ferences with Republican senatorial leaders are very encouraging to friends of the court. If he contents himself, however, with only one or two more public ut- terances reiterating his support of the court, the fate of the tribunal will be in the lap of the gods, and the vote of a single State may turn the tide either way. For this is the situation: The Democratic Senators, with the excep- tions of Reed of Missouri, Dill of ‘Washington, and probably Blease of South Carolina, are to a man for the court, provided they are not asked to vote for reservations that will insult the League of Nations or merely save the face of the Republican ‘‘irrecon- cilables.” ‘The Republicans are split in two. One faction believes that the Repub- lican party is bound by the last two Republican platforms to accept the court with the reasonable Harding- Hughes reservations. It will follow President Coolidge. This faction, how- ever, has no leader worthy of the : issue, and its rank and file are doubt- less more interested in keeping up party morale than supporting world morality. Faction Ably Led. The other Republican faction, which is extraordinarily ably led, is too wise to reject the court outright and thus bear the onus of the act. It is pre- pared, however, to insist on reserva- tions 'so_impossible that either the Democrats will vote against them, as they had to do in the league fights, or else the other nations will refuse to @ccept them. In the event that the ‘weight of the pro-court sentiment which exists throughout the country. If the court is rejected the peace movement in America will be put back for years. If we join the court, how- ever, then the first great step will have been taken by the United States to regain the moral ground lost since ‘the armistice, and America will again take her stand side by side with her sister nations in the world endeavor to hasten that golden day when, as Victor Hugo prophesied, “the only battlefield will be the market opening to commerce and the mind opening to new ideas.” (Cepyright, 1925.) Little Paraguay Notes Rush of Immigrants Little Paraguay, 1,000 miles inland by river boats from Buenos Alres, is experiencing a rush of immigration not unlike the old-time gold rushes in the United States. Probably no South American country -is recelving a larger number of immigrants in com- parison to its size. German farmers are showing a decided preference for the little republic, where land can be obtained cheaply and favorable laws are being passed by the new adminis- tration, which seems to be governing satisfactorily to all political groups. Hardly a steamer arriving at Buenos Alres from Europe fails to bring a group of emigrants en route to Para- guay. Several new German colonies have been established there. But the newest colony projected is that of a British syndicate, that has purchased nearly 250,000 acres of farm land stretching for 15 miles along the Parana River. The company plans to bring over 1,000 British families as fast as houses can be provided for them. Still the most important colony project for Paraguay is that of the Canadian Mennonites, who are ex- pected to begin their migration to their new home this Summer. The first group of 500 will prepare the way for 5,000 £ from Canada. those who menace the life and secur- ity of soclety. Reformation, obviously, cannot be attributed to the use of the death penalty. Elimination Theory Wrong. The argument that capital punish- ment is necessary as a process of elimination is faulty; it is unscientific in its application. The idea of punishment of any type solely as retribution is gradually dis- appearing. History condemns capital victim’s body, due to the slightest fail- ure of co-ordination between the mind and the muscular reaction of the man wielding the gun or the knife. The impulse to kill is the same. The one pn:;uuh‘lg co-ordination and skill suc- ceeds. Imprisonment Certain. After all, is the death of the mur- derer necessary as a measure of pub- lic safety? Must we admit that we kill because we can devise no better way; that it is the easiest solution of punishment. It has been tried before on a colossal scale, judged and found wanting. There is no room for sentimentality Iln dealing with the subject of capital punishment, but death fades into in- significance when compared with life imprisonment. To spend each night in jail, day after day, year after year, gazing at the bars and longing for freedom, is indeed expiation. The United States leads the world in scientific progress. As a nation it boasts achievement in the adjustment of industrial relations, in dealing with complex soclal and welfare problems, vet hangs its head in shame at 10,000 homicidal deaths each year. In the face of this, why do we cling blindly to capital punishment? In spite of many signs which point to its positive failure as a deterrent, why do we re- tain our faith in its efficacy? It has so frequently been said that capital punishment might deter if it ‘were enforced. The fact remains that until -the characteristics of mankind change it can never be enforced. The reasons for this are human elements which cannot be overcome or eradi- cated. The causes of crime are eco- nomic and soclological, with roots far deeper than mere punishment can hope to affect. We find that whatever deterrence there is in punishment lies in its certainty, not In its severity. I am not asking that we abandon a scheme of punishment that is in suc- cessful operation. We have capital punishment, and have had it for gen- erations, yet we have a high homicide rate in shameful contrast to the rest of the civilized world. We are just as far today from a successful solution |tically unknown in the Balkans, al- of the homicide problem as we have|though temnis, foot ball and horse- ever been. _ sacing are in high favor, the dilemma? Life Imprisonment is not an uncertain punishment. Out of nearly 3,000 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment as a maximum in 37 States during the years 1912 to 1919, inclusive, 77 per cent were still in prison on January 1, 1923. In New York State only 10 per cent have been released by commutation or parole on this date. It may with truth be said that the only certain thing about capital pun- ishment s the uncertainty with which it is inflicted. It should be abolished and life imprisonment substituted, with no pardon power until 20 years have actually been served in prison. (Copyright, 1925.) Find Golf Spreading To Balkan Mountains Golf is spreading, even in the Bal- kans. At Sinia, a Summer mountain rector of the Country Club recently decided to lay out a golf course. He engaged 100 skilled laborers, who are working day and night until the course is finished. A British diplomat has given technical advice regarding the laying out of the links. The Ru- manian royal family invariably spend part of the Summer at crown prince has cos come honorary president of .the golf club, it is believed that Rumanians will gradually.take up the game. Up to the present, however, golf is prac- resort, 80 miles from Bucharest, a dis! 'PROBLEM OF Strategic Position Is BY FRANK H. SIMONDS. EYOND question the outstand- | ing circumstances in the dis- cussions in Wil nstown in the opening da of the con- ference was the statement of the' Italian view of world conditions by an eminent Fascisti associate of Mussolin Count Antonio Cippico. Not only was Count Cippico's decla- ration frank to the point of brutality, but it supplied an interesting and significant challenge to those who are seeking within and without the League of Nations v set up a state of permanent peace. Reduced to its simplest terms what Count Cippico actually said was this Italy, with.a population close to 41.- 000,000, crowded into an area of 120.- 000 square miles—that is, less than twice the area of New England finds itself lacking in almost all the es- sentfals which go to make a modern state and beyond all else to consti- tute a great power in the modern sense. Moreover, with a population increasin at the rate of near half a milllon a year Italy not only sees herself without colonial territories in which to settle her growing popula- tion, but actually finds the doors barred against them in other coun- | tries, of which the United States is the most important. Long Struggle for Unity. For Italy the World War was the final detail in the long struggle for | national unity, which began di trously at Novara in the first half of | the last century. In reclaiming to | Italian rule Trieste and the Trentino | and reaching the crests of the Alps at all points in the wide circle from | Ventimiglia to Fiume, Italy for the| first time since the Roman era might | feel herself master in her own house. Only Switzerland held a few outposts south of summits of the Alps and Switzerland was rather a buffer state than a menace; with Switzerland, too, Italy promptly signed a treaty of ar- bitration, which fixed this frontier. But if Italy, for the first time in| modern history, gained her natural and strategic frontlers on the land side, | as a result of the World War, if she | recovered Trent, Trieste, Fiume, Pola | {and pushed her boundary posts be- | looking sea- | {ward her situation did not improve. | The single great power whose shores are entirely inclosed by the Mediter- | ranean, Italy saw the outer gates of this sea held by Britain at Suez and Gibraltar, with Malta midway between and almost within sight of the Itallan | coast. And while Britain held the| outer gates, France at Toulon, Ajac-| cio and Blzerta stretched another bar- | rier from the European to the African | coast. | Thus in case of war between Italy and Britain, the mere possession of the outer gates by the latter would paralyze all seaborne traffic of the former, while In case of war with France, the situation would be hardly better, for, although the fleets of France and Italy are of equal| strength and under the Washington | | conference agreement are to remain so for some years, at least, subma-| rine strength remains like cruiser ton- | nage without limitation and the coast | of French North Africa supplies half a | dozen bases between Bizerta and Oran | | from which Italian commerce can be | attacked far more advantageously | than was British in the World War. Would Be Shut Off. Now, the significance of this strate- | gic situation must not be mistaken. It means quite simply that in case of war with elther of the two other | great powers of the Mediterranean, Italy would be automatically shut off from sea communication with the out- | side world. Such an isolation would mean something vastly more serious than the practical isolation of Great Britain _at one critical state of the World War, for while Great Britain, like Italy, lacked food, she did possess the raw materials out of which arms ! and munitions are made—namely, coal | and iron—while both are almost com- pletely lacking in the Itallan penin- sula.. | If you contrast the situation of France with that of Italy, noting that the population of the two countries is substantially identical, the Italian weakness becomes obvious. Livingina country almost twice as large, the French population is well-nigh self- supporting; for its food it has good | crop years, to make very slight de mands upon the outside world, while | at best Italy must draw enormously | upon the world or starve. While Ttaly is without coal, France possesses mines which yield two-thirds of the annual consumption, and while Italy is without iron, France contains more than half of the iron.deposits of Eu-| rope and can exchange surplus iron for necessary coal. While it is true | that Italy has in recent years made great use of water power as a sub- stitute for coal, France possesses at least equal resources in this direction and for both countries coal still re- mains a real necessity. Suffers by Comparison. Looking to the matter of raw ma- terlals generally, France, with her| great colonial empire, already draws many of the tropical products and is making experiments which may pres- ently enable her to supply herself with rubber from the Kongo and cotton from the Niger. Thus, in sum, while Italy must import annually vastly more than she exports, France in re- cent post-war years has been able to achieve an excess in her exports; if. moreover, you compare the coloniai empires of the two countries, it is clear how enormous is the disparity. In North Africa, in West Africa and in Central Africa France has three great establishments, together with Madagascar on the east coast, while in Asla she holds in Indo-China a ter- ritory twice as large as Italy itself. The Itallan colonial empire, on the other hand, is represented by the wastes of Tripoli and a few relatively insignificant holdings on the Red Sea {and on the Somali coast. ‘When it comes to the matter of emi- gration, too, the Itallan problem s | unmistakable. Each year nearly half a million more Italians are born than | die, thus while it is an unusual year in France when the excess of births over deaths reaches the hundred thou- sand mark, Italy’s surplus is steadily five times as great. It is, too, twice as great as” that of Britain. But France and Britain have vast areas under their respective flags to which jto send their emigrants. For Britons there are the overseas dominions, while for Frenchmen there are Tunis, Algeria_and Morocco, almost within sight of French shores and with cli- matic conditions only slightly different from those of Provence itself. Until recently Italy's condition was rendered less acute because annually hundreds of thousands _of Italians sending back to Ttaly many of dollars, which were a precious item in national immigration law | checked this, leaving to Ital opportunities { can [} EXISTENCE - IS CONFRONTING ITALY Poor and Territory Is Lacking for Expansion to Care for Increasing Population. | crossed the seas to America, not only finding nd employment for themselves support for their families, but millions economy. has But our new automatically s only South America and Europe as outlets. Toreover, if the ravages of the ¥orid War for the moment sfiered Luropean to Itallan labor, the work of reconstruction is well-nigh complete and this outlet is rapidly tending to vanish. ow, then, one touches upon what the fundamental argument of Count Cipplco: for France, for Great Britain, as for the United States. ce {s the single desideratum. All hree have within themselves, under their own flags, all the essentials, not alone for continued prosperous exist ence, but for healthy growth. Speak inz terr v and strategically, all ated powers, whose sin is to hold and develop which are under their and within its of their nty period I three the limits ry maps tonal which ts well-ni, withou ed on the cof sover filli disel mpor Must Expand or Contract. ;. on the other hand. must ex pand or contract, but she can only ex- pand by trenching upon the bounda- ries of some other country, and to con- t. to limit her population, means nk inescapably to the rank of a )nd-class power with respect of all other European great powers, with the single exception of Germany, since all of them have the opportu nity for almost limitless expansion within themselves. Peace, any system of peace which has vet been devised, the League of Nations for example, rests inevitably upon the status quo. Its foundation must be the mutual agreement of all nations to recognize the rights of all others, and the first of these rights is, patently, territorial integrity. What is asked of Italy, then, is that she now ind forever agree to live within her hopelessly inadequate boundaries, re signing all hope not alone to acquire regions suitable for the settlement of her surplus population, but also to escape in some fashion from the situa tion created by the British ownership of Suez, Cyprus, Malta and Gibraltar the keys of the seas in which Italy floats. Argues for Relief. In justice to Count Cippico, one must point out that he did not as. sume any bellicose tone. He did not that Italy would never cease to strive against this present condition by the avenue of war preparations. What he did do was to point out with great clarity and emphagis that the condition itself was intolerable, and that for such situations in history war had hitherto been the sole method of change. Like Nitti. an Itallan of far different political associations, Count Cippico argued for remedies which were pacific but consisted quite ob- viously in various forms of inter. nationalism The ‘“‘freedom of the seas,” the dis ppearance of which from the con ons of peace in 1919 he rather humorously lamented, would mean for Italy some form of international ownership replacing British at Gi braltar and Suez, some form of inter- national control replacing national in the vast field of raw materials. In | a word, what Italy seeks is some es- cape from the fatal situation in which she finds herself both with respect to the freedom of the seas and the opportunity to obtain those raw ma- terials and food supplies which are essential to her existence, some way of assuring to herself, beyond the con- trol of any other nation, the primary requisites of national existence. Deserves Close Study. Count Cippico’s whole statement deserves the closest American study, because it illuminates the darkest corner In American understanding of the real question of peace. With us the debate between peace and war is mainly abstract. We think of peace as the condition in which we live in a country not only self supporting but capable of continuing so indefinitely a condition in which we are not oniy the masters of our own strategic necessities, but strong enough to com pel other countries to accept unhesi tatingly such policies as the Monroe Doctrine. We do not economically depend upon the world, but in a much larger degree than ever before the world depends upon us. Contrast with our situation that of Italy, whose millions might be con- demned to starvation, whose factories would close from lack of raw mate rials, whose whole national life would be paralyzed if, for example, as a consequence of some international dispute, Britain should close the | Straits of Gibraltar and the gateway of the Suez to Italian commerce, or if war with France should loosen sub marine_warfare from Tripoli to the Riff. For our still growing popula- tion there is opportunity for work within our own boundaries, while the vast regions of the Canadian north west are still empty, whereas at home the epportunity for work in Italy daily diminishes and abroad the re. strictfons upon immigration grow steadily. Peace Might Be Fatal. Peace on such terms might easily be even more fatal than war for any country. To accept such conditions might mean surrendering not alone in ternational importance, but domestic prosperity. War, whatever its tempo- rary privations, miseries and destruc- tions, might be less permanently evil, if it enables a people to escape from such a condition, than permanent peace and its commitments. More than all else, too, it was the conviction that the world, the great powers—England, France and Rus- sla—were drawing a net around Ger many to keep her in a situation Infinitely less intolerable than that of Italv, economically if not politically, which led the majority of the German people to the World War. It is the outstanding danger {n the Japanese situation today. It is the circum- stances which more than all else contributes to making the German attitude in the far future problemati cal, now that Germany, with only a slightly smaller population than in 1914, is deprived of her colonies, shorn of most of her iron and much of her coal and surrounded by nations whose economic as well as political interests are hostile. At Geneva last year Japan pressed strongly for some form of interna- tional law which should overbear na tional and prevent natlons possessing vast empty spaces and indefinite labor markets from closing these to other peoples restricted within narrow are; (Continued on Thicd Page.)