Evening Star Newspaper, February 28, 1926, Page 49

EDITORIAL SECTION NATIONAL PROBLEMS SPECIAL FEATURES Part 2—18 Pages ARMS PARLEY UNREALITY FROM BRITISH VIEWPOINT Coming of America Will Bring Gains Economically, But Disarmament 1 Too Far Off to Awaken Interest. K H. SIMONT LONDON, Tast Sunday I discussed British economic conditions. Now it remains to deal with international problems, and particularly the question of dis. armament as viewed from the British standpoint. But In discussing political questions it is essential to recall that economic considerations tremendously overbalance political, and that the people of the United States, enjoying a period of prosperity and an era of political good feeling, can have little accurate appreclation of the deadly earnestness with which Europe—and Britain in particular—is addressing itself to the solutfon of its terrible problems. Again onr polley with respect to debts and the line Mr. Hoover has re- cently taken over rubber have aroused in England a profound. and, 1 believe, an enduring, resentment which may have very significant consequences for very long time to come. Here in London there is a clear perception that America is not only an exigent creditor but a determined rival; that, commercially speaking, the United States is henceforth an enemy. Nor 1% 1t passing unnoticed that our exces- sive unpopularity on the Continent makes possible not merely a European economic combination against us but also emphasizes the possibility that such a combination shall have British leadership. Viewpoints Contrast. Nothing Is more striking, too, the contrast between American points of view as to the present situation. In Washington one can detect a marked drift toward closer relations with Kurope, based upon rather vague notlons that not only will co-operation prove fruitful but that al positive cnthusiasm. In London, on the contrary, there is certainly no en- thusiasm over our coming. and not the BY FRAY than 3ri and chtest belief in the possibility of | pay any present achievement of any the objects which have led to our decision to come to that disarma- ment conference, which has already heen postponed for a long period of time. Certainly Furope will not openly and officiaily do anything to prevent a |ing about a new. m: roturn to this s the avai i as where loans tinl needs United Sta back has alre pread caler which t o at ' Hencetorth debts offers shall to the nd credit a fact decided motion wide o the d o aude use of ends we Continent that s has o a tion & lone tor purely Buropean ving nationai inter the existence of the the iritish an instant in which to create can darity apainst the States at any moment when worth while. Tt is true that has insisted upon de it tiy clearly pei ceived here ihat, despite ments, very little money paid. and that the vebts is that they 2rnment an opport to reductions of payn: moment. to exercise upon policies of debtor nations the hope of such concessions must turn influence foreisn policy. « By the and Buro) United it may Britain also payments, | the will ever be lue of the itish gov 1greeing \ given veal v offer o F ity, by nts at And in ned by Locarno. Locarno Britain has acanived the undisputed hegemony of Furope. France and Germany are hereafter indefinitely hound to follow Pritish dietates in return for guaran tees against each other. The domt in Burope however. pacts nating force s, the Anglo-Fre how-down 1 many on celerated evicuation « the British wonld s to Italy, which materially by Lax i< slightly differ opinion is nee and Ger- s that of ac tween Fr such issues 1 with France, is not affected rno, the situ nt. Biitish public i by con be In Talian British in to go to vor to build pive, 1 ttle the d I i scism policy ut will hecause fussolini a the st i easingly pro-1 Witions fall in we Ttal and end 1 with olved cions of millions of new ltaly whith at power in immediate danzer result of the Mosul. But if Hialy will in stand, Turkish action as ination to hold h attack v & bound to lead to Italian landing + Mosul there would be plain reason v Mustapha Kemal Pasha might i <htate. In a word, Italy can now, + Any moment. be launched against key, and there might be very nd British reasons why, “hole, 1t wonld be well to occupy both countries, which are equally restless and constitute di Disarmame; of disarmament, which so0 largely in the American mind, | hias hecome sibordinate anc tant. Do the RBritish really furopean disarmament at this ment? At the least, there reasons for the doubis which exist on all sides hester Guardian, for example, pounces categorically that British r esentati heen w protesting apainst the rum_of fuction in the ny The obvious explanation les the exent British apprehension Russia and the desire to keep a vong force on her western frontier, As to ' again, all the old de- yunclation of irench militarisin has pussed. Even the criticism of France n Syria 1d Mo » has died away s there is a clear realization that Joth France and Britain in Asia and \frica face the same perils due to na- tive unrest. 1f France chould aban (on Syria, then the whole storm would sreak over the British in Palestine and in the Irak. The truth is that, as a practical question, British sentiment no longer considers disarmament as half as important as the problem of the use and direction of existing mili- tary forces in accordance with British interests. No British government will consider the limitation of (vength. All British interest anestion mo. as to thix an » ns have i even naval in thi ect 15 concentrated upon the aboli. | s Jegal | change the submarine a weapon menacing Rritish naval su- premacy. As to land armaments, the \gle possible decision which an ar. Jament conference might make to the P'vitish mind is the prohibition of the Jssing of cities and the restriction of ertain usages which developed in the World War The reason that nui new seep tion of dnen in disarmament A vital guestion ) it will be welcomed with | ©f | question in Europe and t < ; ie of the Atlantic of | ment, a thing intensely des that Nation which possesses most of | uropean nations hie cash of the world, com- | Byt e the essen- | that the | I entente, and in any | tion the Rhineland | necessity m | for st nnanimously agatnst {armies of Key with | sive Ger: 1| European creditors on re in | count »on the British forces | our “n the | hastened or delayed as w |tar as there is a return, will atisfied elements. | Subordinate. | From the British angle the whole |our entrance into the war nine vears | fig- | unimpor- | anything save the capital essential to desire | IJuropean recovery. ire good [ we are Sh B The Man- | there is the appear le to War. | be as popular ent | being mude to part with some of his Polish | wealth, which seems to Eur | i | | |and get together and that the United | will | based upon this recognition. Furope is that Locarno has served t& make clear that there is now no dan- ger of war incident to armaments, and it has put British diplomacy in com- plete control of the European situa- tion, save with respect to Russia. | What British policy aims at is not the disarmament of Europe but the construction of a Kuropean combina- tion against Russia, which has become and will remain the great menace to British interests in Asia until some adjustment with Russia comes about. Such armies as exist in Kurope, notably the French, the Polish, the Rumanian and the Italian, no longer constitute the -smallest danger to Furopean peace or British interests. On the contrary, all of these might easily, collectively or more probably | separately, prove ex: ively useful to ! British interests. While Poincare | aimed at establishing French' control |iIn Burope and the supremacy of French policy, Britain hitterly opposed France and vigorously attacked French | “militarism” This was hecause the | French army was the basis of a| poliey which the British regarded as | inimical to thelr inter ! But Poincare has gone, French pol- icy has changed, and Briand and Chamberlain have become insepara- | ble comrades. Thus the French army { i becomes not a menace to Britain but for glving new power to| i { { a means Anglo-French decisions, which are and wlill continue to be made in utmost agreement. Actually the British navy and the FKrench army | joint instruments for enforcing joint | policies, and when the British more {or less in the abstract talk about the reduction of land armies the French reply with polite suggestions about ! the reduction of marine strength. But nelther will make any real reduction now in response to outside demand, | and neither will, in the last anal push the question against the other. Europe Disinterested. is not an exaggeration there is no real have become Tt to say disarmament 0 hat our par- ticipation In the Geneva conference is | based upon a total misapprehension of the facts of the situation. We are apparently coming back to Europe | with the "idea that we can in some | mysterious fashion contribute to bring- ure of disarma- red by the governments the European no longer teel present danger of war—that is, of any collision of armed forces—they are not much interested in_the question of disarmament rather brutal truth is that while ssolutely no enthusiasm ur coming to Geneva, while we | s unpopular in the critical | period of the war when we remained still neutral, there is the feeling that our return may well offer a chance | to use our presence for certain defi- | nite Buropean ends and exploit our | enthusiasm with respect to disarma- | ment, to enlist new loans and to ob- | tain fresh aid. To do this it may be | necessary to humor our interest in | disarmament, but disarmament is not | £oing o be the issue in Europe this vear or next; and while there will be | enormous discussion, in no small measure preserve appearance so “and precisely because rnment and people there is any OV over, to decisive influence |far as we are concerned, no sensible | observer expects that even a sized mouse will be brought forth by | the mountain of discussion. o While Europe dreaded a new while Germany feared French attack while France feared German aggre sion, while Britain resented and even feared Poincarist France, disarma ment was a great question. But now, until you get to the cast and south-| east of Europe, no one fears any ag- | gretsion. Evervhody accepts the ne- | that for 10 vears, mavhap for | urope Is going to have peace if not of understanding, at least Thus the only people actually and vitally interested in dis- | armament are the Gern who can | the present only improve their | comparative situation by reducing the | thelr neighbors, since they cannot legally increase their armies. | Situation Economic. The urs n situation is exclusively economic and in the situ ation the American debts serve as a basis of union between all the debtors 13y And presentiy all the tions ac impressing the | the fact th repara- | tions ave only collected for the pur pose of paying the United ates. From one end of Europe to the other poliey with respect of debts is reprobated, and despite all the super- ficial denials the truth is that we are disliked and resented from Plymouth to Prague. But we have the money Europe | needs and European recovery wilt he | lend or but- return, so not be grested with anything ltke the en- thusiasm which welcomerd Mr. Wilson in 1918, much less that which hailed | of | D almost | will ns with succeed in Germa ton up our pockets. Our ago. Burope is not looking to Amer- | ica for leadership, for suggestion, for More or less in degrne but pretty uniformly in fact | < in the case of rubber, | nee of o European there is a no idea can Uncle Sam Whenever, at expense cing, and s that of riumph pe beyond measure. At least in Ingland the in- dividual American has nothing to com- plain about on the score of courtesy, friendliness and the like. But no/ Amerlean can fail to perceive that col- lectively and in the abstract Amerl- cans und the United States are un- popular, disturhed, and that the most appreciated jest s that at the expense Uncle Sam. American Notion a Dream. The current American notion that now the Locarno pacts have been ratified all Europe is ready to disarm States of Europe is just around the corner 1s, of course, utter nonsense. Europe has agreed that it cannot | fight, for one, two. perhaps three, dec- ades. Great Britaln, France and Germany, through their present gov- ernmental masters, have made and!| continue to make arrangements | o far it | there is a the change that and true Furope \ce. perfectly in promises | A degree, not of disarmament, but of reduction of mili rength, is | taking place as a_conse the | change in the political situation. But | from the London angle I do not see!few days ago, the President revealed | o " "oy down. the smallest evidence of any possibility of the adoption of any comprehen: |‘\e The Sunday St WASHINGTON ’ SUNDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 28, 1926. World Court Fight Is Fairly Launched Illinois Vote Being the F BY G. GOULD LINCOL! The anti-World Court campaign, designed to arouse the people and to bring about a de- mand upon Congress to reverse the recent action of the Senate, is falrly launched. Dur- ing the last week Senator Borah of Idaho, Republican, and Senator Reed of Missourl, Democrat, have spoken in Ilinois, and Senator Borah In Wisconsin, to great gatherings. The first real test of strength at the polls is expected in Illinols at the senatorial pri- maries April 13. Senator William B. Me- Kinley, Republican, who voted for American adherence to the court, is opposed for the Republican senatorial nomination by Frank L. Smith, who has been chairman of the tate central committee. The World Court ssue has been seized upon by Mr. Smith's supporters. Although President Coolidge and the Re- publican administration stood four-square for the adoption of the resolution proposing ad- herence to the World Court with the reserva- tions Included, it appears that the administra- tion Is keeping hands off in the Republican primaries in Illinois and will do so in other States to all outward intents and purposes. Indeed, it is a time-honored tradition to refrain from entering the party primaries. x % % X Furthermore, the Republican national com mittee will not mix up in the Illinois primary fight or other similar contests, it has been learned. The national committee naturally will give such ald and assistance as may be asked of it when the party nominees have been selected both for the Senate and the House. But until the campaign for the elec- tions in November is under way and the pri- marles are in the past the machinery of the national committee will not be set in motion. The senatorial campaign committee, too, will maintain the same position of aloofness until after the party designations have been made, it fs said. The pro-court Senators, therefore, are faced with making the fight for renomination “on their own,” with such assistance as thelr own organizations may be able to give and the assistance of persons who believe in American entry into the court. Their anti-court oppo- nents, it they have them, however, may have the aid of the flying squadron headed by Senators Borah, Reed of Missouri and Ship stead of Minnesota, the last the sole repre entative of the Farmer-Labor party in the enate. Individual Senators who favored the World Court, of course, may, out of friend- s<hip to their colleagues, deliver some speeches in the States where the contest is waging, but it will not be because they have been sent there by the mational or senatorial committees or by the administration. * ok Kk Two pro-court Senators are to speak in Chi ago, for example, during the coming month, one a Democrat and the other a Republican The Democrat is Senator Robinson of Arkansas, the party leader, and the Republican, Senator Pepper of Pennsylvania. The Democrats, taken by and large, have been hes sup: porters of the American entry into the World Court, only three of the Democratic Senators opposing it when the vote was taken. It would not be strange, therefore, If Senator Rob- inson should strongly support the action taken by the Senate in voting entry of this country inte the court. In view of the contest In the Republican primary, however, he might be in a position” of mixing up in o Republican fight But that would be no more strange than for Senator Reed of Missourl to mix up in the same Republican contest. Senator Pepper is to Speak before the Jamilton Club Ma i Whether he will dlscuss the World Court re- mains to be seen. He has taken the position that the World Court is a closed issue. Indeed, this has heen the position generally assumed by the supporters of the World Court. They Insist that the anti-court group will find it impossible to make a real fssue of the court, and that if it gives signs of becoming an issue the pro-court people and the many church and woman and other organizations which sup- ported entry of this country into the court will become just as active as the anti-court group. They do not, however, expect this situation to come about. Not a little depends upon the result of the primaries in Illinols as to whether the World Court becomes a real political issue in this country. A victory for Senator McKinley would be halled generally as a victory for the World Court. And on the other hand a vic- {ory for Mr. Smith would be claimed as a sig- nal success for the anti-court group. A de- feat in Tllinols would do much to smash the anti-court effort. As a matter of fact. there are many issues involved in the Tllinofs Republican senatorial primary besides the World Court. The stage was sst for a,contest between Senator McKin- ley and Mr. Smith months before the World Court loomed up as an issue at all. The con trol of Chicago politics is involved and the de of Mr. Smith to put Senator McKinley of the Senate so that he may get in dde loses, pro-court or anti-court, will doubtless call attention to these other jssues after the result has been announced. and seek to blame them rather than the court issve for thelr defeat * ok ok k Six vears ago Senator McKinley defeated Mr. Smith for the Republican nomination for the Senate by some six or seven thousand votes—a narrow margin in a State with as large 2 population as Illinols. Senator Mc- Kinley has been campaigning for re-election slnce last March, going over the State day after day during the Spring, Summer and Fall. He has w strong organization. —Fis streneth has laln_ particularly “down State as in contrast to Cook County. Chicago. 1lix friends say that If he can get a fairly good “preak” in Chicago, he wiil win. On the othe hand it is learned that since Senator Borah spoke in Chicago last week against the court Tore than 30,000 letters and postal cards have been received from the down State countles supporting the anti-court proposal. The so- “alled German-American vote is said to e largely opposed to the court. But to offset this, Senator McKinley will recelve, it is predicted, a very large number of ‘votes cast hy the colored voters in Chicago, of whom there are some 50,000. He is the author of fthe anti-lynching bill now pending in the Senate judiclary committee. * ok K K Those Senators who voted for the World Court and who come up for re-election are Senators Bingham, Connecticut; Butler, Massachusetts: Cameron, Arizona; Cummins, fowa: Curtls, Kansas: Dale, Vermont: Ernst, Kentucky; Goding, Idaho: Jones. Washington: Lenroot, Wisconsin: McKinley, Tllinots: Means, Colorado; Norbeck, South Dakota: Oddle, Nevada: Pepper, Pennsylvania: Shortridge. California; Smoot, Utah; Stanfield, Oregon: Wadsworth, New York; Weller, Maryland Willis, Ohlo—Republicans, and Benators Broussard, Louisiana: Caraway, Arkansas: Fletcher, Florida: George, Georgl Overman, North Carolina: Smith. South Carolina and Underwood, Alabama—Democrats. Those Senators who voted against the World Court and who come up for re-election are: Nenators Harreld, Oklahoma; Moses, New Harpshire; Nve, North Dakota: Robinson, Indiana: Watson, Indfana; Williams, Missouri —Republicans, and no Democrats. cept for the Illinols primary fight the World Court has been heard of very little in {he campalgns up to date of these Senators sire out Whichever irst Real Test seeking re-electifon. In New Hampshire, to be sure, there is talk of making the court an fssue against Senator Moses, who voted against American adherence, and it is under- stood that if the issue must come, Senator Moses will meet it squarely and without hesi- fatlon. His opponent for the Republican nomi- nation is Robert P. Bass, who, it is said, is likely to raise the issue. Wisconsin, where Senator Lenroot, the only “stalwart” Repub- lican in_ Congress from the Badger State, must make the race for re-election, will pro- vide another field for a World Court contest though its primaries do not come until Sep- tember. Senator Lenroot led the fight for the court in the Senate. Senator Borah has made anti-court speeches in Milwaukee and Racine, and Senator Lenroot is on his way now to make a pro-court speech in Milwau- kee. Gov. Blaine, the Progressive candidate for the Republican nomination, is expected 1« take up the cudgels for the anti-court group in the coming campaign. The fight in W consin, of colirse, goes far beyond the court as an issue, and really revolves around the okl La Follette control of the State and the effort of the stalwarts to send Senator Lenroot hack to the Senate. * ok ok ok of the primaries involving Sena- voted for the World Court comes in South Dakota, on March 23, where Senator orbeck is seeking the Republican nomina- tion. The pre-primary conventions having declared for him, he ix expected to win the nomination and the World Court matter is not cutting much of a figure, if any. The Oregon primaries and those of Pennsylvania and Indiana come in May. Senator Stanfield is in the race for the nomination to succeed himself, and so far as Is known none of his opponents are running on an anti-court plat- form. Both the Oregon Senators voted for the court. In Pennsylvi the candidates against Senator Pepper have not vet an- nounced themselves, but s hardly likely that the court will figure largely as an issue there. Both Senators Watson and Robinson voted against the court and it has been reck- oned this will help them the Indiana primaries. In some of the other ever, particularly should ators win first blood in Illinois, the court issue may play fts part. Thisx may be true in Idaho. The nomination in Idaho, however, is by convention. Senator Gooding, Senator Borah's colleague, is up for re-election. It has heen rumored that the anti-court group might seek to defeat Senator Butler of Mas- sachusetts, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, but this is scarcely likely to be the case, since there seems no probability of opposition to Senator Butler in the primaries next September, and his proh- able opponent in the election, former Senator David I. Walsh, Democrat, has heen dec to be pro-court, The first tors who in State how- the cont anti-court # oA The House had no constitutional duty to perform in connection with the resolution proposing dherence to the World Court, nevertheless on March 3, 1925, the last day of the closing session of the list Congress, it adopted a resolution offered hy Representi- tive Burton of Ohio, expressing it as the sense of the House that there should he early ad- herence by the United States to the W 1 Court. The vote stood 203 in favor of the resolution, 28 against, and 100 not votins Many of the members who voted for the reso- lution are up for renomination and re-election this Fall. Former Representative Allen Moore of 1itnofs, now campaign manager for Frank L. Smith in his race against Senator MeKin- ley, was recorded In favor of the Burton res lution tn the House, and attention has b called to this in Hlinofs. en President Coolidge that the Senate put fte stamp of approval upon the agree: ment proposed for | the debt States. { that he is expecting the Senate to fol- low the voted its approval of th ment plan without any friction or pro- | Senate to act without delay. (he fact that there exists among some member to make a determined fight against the adoption of this plan, cauge they ment is too liberal. the opponents of the settlement plan to : vent its final ratification. some of the Republican members of the Senate who personally favor the COOL[ADGE PUSHES HIS DEMAND FOR ITALIAN DEBT SETTLEMENT Senate to Follow Example of House in Ap- proving Agreement—Knows Foes Plans, RY J. RUSSELL YOUNG. resolution. Vigorous demand is heing made by the settlement of owed by Italy to the United Mr. Coolidge has let it be known example of the House, which is debt settle- racted debate. Also, he expects the The Executive is not unmindful of of the Senate body a desire organize an opposition group to principally be- | the y n for settle- | He = been kept dvised of the efforts on the part of think all the muster sufficient strength to pre- Some Want Postponement. Moreover, the President knows that | the normal than the adoption of the World Court He was represented by this_authority as ratification of this plan as being of tremendous economic opinion, It means more to the people, individually, of this country than does the idea of American adherence to the World Court. latter holds out promise of great in- ternational understanding and better- ment, but the settlement of this debt question means immediate results, not only of a material nature but a moral nd economic nature as well. The President Ttaly is being beautifully and liberally treated according tlement agreed upon. ever, that the plan strietly in accordance with Ital pacity to pay and that the terms are the best that could be expected under circumstanc feels also that the annual payments, while smaller than & this country better than nothing, and hesides, this money can be readily used now that revenues of the Natlon are belng reduced by the huge slash in taxes provided in the revenue bill. would Measure Seeks to Provisions Gi BY WILL P. KE! looking upon the complicated than the =0 “equalization” bill, the subject of hearings past week, and on which report is promised. merous provisos with whicl value. Tn his His theory is that the “joker.” As a matter of fact, no readily admits that to the plan of set- He feels, how- least to advance to was worked out with equal length glance at history is perha is necessary adjustment to effect so involved. He any persons in like to see, arel; . permanent usually only temporary a of merchant vessels bled in an emergency Fought by Probably no legislative measure in troduced in recent vears appears more which has heen Indeed, repel even friendly investigation and give rise to a not unreasonable sus- plcion that they must conceal some be simpler and more equitable than the intent of the bill—namely, to pro- vide that all commissioned officers of the Navy shall have opportunity at uccessive grades of service, and a to make clear how so intricate a bill In the sea warfare of early times, it vill be found, navies, so far from be- organizations, hastily Soldiers. COMPLEX NAVY EQUALIZING BILL. SIMPLE IN AIM. LIKELY TO PASS Give All Officers Opportunity for Equal Rank With Equal Length of Service—Many ve It Formidable Appearance. NEDY. Rome made the surgeon's division an integral part of every ship's crew Similarly in other lines: The dis tribution of and accounting for public funds requires the services of a hody of men skilled in commercial tices: building ships of war grew be a unigue occupation, and it, too. demanded men applying themselves to that work alone: and so, likewlise. with the building of dry docks or dealing with the peculiar religious problems presented by the seafaring man. In such way has the commissioned personnel of the Navy come to con- slst of two groups—the line, lineal descendants of the old-time sea cap tains, who, in addition to acquiring the trade of their forerunners, have learned the employment of the arts and engines appropriate to warfare at sea, and the staff, schooled in the universal arts and sciences and prac- ticed in their application to the prose cutlon of naval warfare, Products of Necessities. Though not cotemporary both groups are equally the natural products of necessities created by hu- man progress, and the two groups are, lled Navy Auring the a_favorable the nu h it bristles thing could ps required simple an were ggregations assem- in origin. | { plan, proposed settlement and will vote for it eventually desire to have the mat- ter postponed until after the congres- slonal clections next November. These Senators are among those who come up for re-election next Fall, and they would prefer not to have the Itallan debt settlement become a possible i cue during the impending campaign. They argue that already they have sufficient difficulties to overcome and | that the traveling is rough enough without adding to it by injecting this | debt question. On more than one occasion recently overtures have been made to the Presi- | dent to agree to delaying ratification | of the Ttalian affaic until the next ses. wion. This, however, has made no im- pression upon the Executive and he has served notice that he will sanction no postponement of the question. nor will he give any quarter in the prom- ised fight when the ratification ques- tion comes up in the Senate. Within the past few days Mr. Cool- idge has virtually thrown down the gantlet to those who would block or Attempt to defeat this part of his leg- islative program. Through his lieu- {enants in the Senate he has issued his challenge. 1le has seen to it that the word has been passed along that he s determined that this matter shall be favorably acted upon and disposed of without any further delay, and to accomplish this he is prepared to throw the full weight of his prestige as President and leader of his party into the battle. Unusually Interested. 1t is well known that President Cool- idge is more than ordinarily interested in the adoption of this debt settlement but it is not senerally known that his interest and his eagerness is actually more pronounced than was the case of the World Court protocol. One of the President’s closest ad- visers is the authority for this state- ment. While discussing the subject a his genuine interest in the disposal of | the Ttalian debt plan, explaining at the time that he chnsidered its adoption of greater importance In some respects | that | partisan arrangement for its ratifica Moreover, the President is convinced | that ratification of thie settlement plan will have a wonderful effect upon the economic stability not only of Italy but other nations of Europe. Ttaly May Drop Matter. 1In issuing his deflance to those sen- ators who are trying to stir up an or- ganized opposition to the settlement, | President Coolidge has reminded them it this plan is now rejected, it would not be surprising if Italy would fail to make any further attempts at reaching an agreement, in which event the United States would receive noth- | ing in return for its loans. In his opinion, such a course on the part of | the Italian government would not be | surprising or unnatural. le argues that rejectment on the part of the Senate, after the United States Debt Funding Commission had agreed to the settiement, the Executive himself has approved it and the House of Rep- vesentatives by nearly a 2-to-l vote had sanctioned it. could not help but | be confusing and disconcerting to the Italans. In other words, it would seem highly strange to the Italian government that one branch of the American Legislature alone could be the means of defeating this settlement plan, after the Executive and the House of Representatives had ap- proved it. The President has made no secret of the fact that he had hoped that this matter would have easv sailing in the Senate, fust as was the case in | the House. He had anticipated a bi- | tion. However. the President. while keenly alive to the situation in the | Senate, is fully confident that the op- | position will fall short of defeating ! he plan. He has reason to know that | efforts thus far to make a party issue | of the settlement plan have failed so | far and that a careful count of noses | indicates that there are sufficient Re- publican and Democratic votes to a <ure ratification when the time comes It is the Coolldge custom to view a roblem or an issue from every angle (Continued on Fourth Page.) As such they were manned by their usual crews and fought by land sol- diery embarked for the occasion. Even when, as was the practice at certain perfods in Athens, Rome and Venice, national navies were main- tained, there till remained a wide gulf between the crew who navigated and handled the ship and the soldiery | who commanded it and did the fight- ing. This separation persisted gen- erally until the time of the Spanish | Armada, In 1588, when the new de- | parture was witnessed of saflors doing | the fighting. | Probably this Innovation in the practices of naval warfare was more to circumstances than to in ventiveness on the part of the Eng lish; but, whether credit be due them or not, the success of thelr experi ment served to inaugurate a new er in naval warfare, for the advantages to be gained by having a unified group | due | in respect to their ecommon occupa: tion, complementary and mutually in- dispensable. That there exist inequal ities such as to require an equaliza- tion bill for their correction is due to the point of distinction noted—the line and staff were not cotemporary in origin. The staff is the newcomer, grafted by degrees on an existing or- ganization as the necessity was from time to time appreciated, and granted recognition by material rewards of services, such as rank, pay and pr motion, through successive acts cov. ering a long period of the country’'s history. A Thus through plece-meal leglslation enacted under speclal cirecumstance: without reference to u consistent pol fcy, and certainly without deliberate intent, there have arisen many dif | terences among officers in matters of rank or many pay, these precedence; differences and that it is make of men specfally trained to conduct [ necessary many provisos if some offi warfare at sea in all its phases was from that time on universally recog- nized. ‘As a result permanent navies made thelr appearance and with them the naval line officer—a person famillar with the navigation and handling of ships and also trained in the weapons and methods of warfare afloat. Other Lines Develop. For a time these line officers suf. ficed for the doing of all that had to be done aboard the ships of those days, but it soon became evident that there was much further that could be done profitably that lay wholly out- side the experience of this new pro- | fession of arms. For example, it was found that men fought more willingly and courageous- 1y knowing that a surgeon stood hy to relieve their hurts, and that the advice of a surgeon in matters of hy kiene and diet often prevented untimely collapse of an expedition from the inroads of scurvy. So it the | cers are not to be deprived of henefits they now enjoy by virtue of previous legislation. in addition there must be other pro- visos In order to adapt the bill to the operation of laws relating to selec tion and in order to apportion advance in the several corps according to their relative numerical strength. The apparent complications of the Navy's “equalization” bill, soon to be reported and passed by the House, represent therefore merely the meas. ures necessary actually to bring about equal opportunity for promotion; and hence, notwithstanding the multiplici- ty of provisos, the purpose and effect of the bill are precisely what its name implies—opportunity for equal rank with equal length of service. . > Germany is becoming ever more ur ban. The latest census figures show that in 1925, 26.2 per cent of the popu. lation lived in the cities having more than 100,000 Inhabitants. Nearly 50 per cent live in towns of more than came about that Furopean nations, after learning in the Mard school of experience what they might have learned from the history of Greece or 10,090 There ar large clties in Germany and towns with 10,000 or more inhabitants. [ Armenia. mistakes BY JULES JUSSERAND. Ambassador From France to the United States. Former my distant retreat, far from the country where 1 spent the 22 most_important years of my life, i reports reach me, some cheery, i some gloomy. | The cheery ones concern the United | States themselves: and no one, the | or anywhere else, rejolces more heart- |ily than 1. Prosperity Is on the in- | crease, the surplus for the past year | was $250,000,000, and, in spite of a ! honus beyond the dreams of our own | veterans, 1926 will have a still larger | one. | The debt has teen reduced during [ the fiscal year by $735,000000: owing | | to improved methods, American busi- | nesx is saving $500,000,000 a yvear: | owing to a better understanding of their interests, the masses are saving, too, the number of savings banks de [ positors being presently 45,000,000 |There is a motor vehicle for every {five white inhabitants; wages are on | i the increase; wholesale prices for com- { modities are on the decrease. Never | have the many been able to lead such enjoyable lives. More respected than punt of what she did fn 1917-18 America has no enemies. Trespasse lugainst right, abettors of autocracy, | know now that Americans are not im- | {mersed in material interests, with no | thought but for matters of trade and !tinance. The States entered the war | rejecting in advance all thought of | profit, but they acquired the advan- | tage of being better known for what they are, a gain more valuable than uny mandate over any provin i ever on_ac- Gloom Regarding France. | The gloomy reports concern France. | The good she has done is apparently | considered by some as of the past and i having but a historic interest. like the deeds of Charlemagne. All the old | ccusations against her, time and ain refuted, with new ones super- | added, are being actively spread by some unfriendly spirits, who say that, { though she is wealthy, France is un | dertaxed; she spends fantastic sums | for an army v except for impe- | rialistic purposes: she is therefore un- able and unwilling to pay her debts | and should be branded as a defaulter ! she tramples the poor Riffians under | foot and refuses Syrians their longed | for independence. No nation more militaristic; and new efforts are made even to show that she s not, after all, | 0 innocent as she pretends as to the | { war of 1914. i One might have thought that a suf ‘llu fent answer would have been the | half century of peace maintalned by { us not without sacrifice—as when the | Kafser, landin at Tangiers, offered | protection to the Sultan of Mo- | i putting in ieopardv Algerfan | possessions which have been Krench | | longer than California has been Amer iean We accepted, on the snggestion of Mr. Roosevelt, the idea of a con ference, and, owing to our attitude and to this first considerable Ameri can intervention in international mat ters, war was averted (1905-6) Defense Forces Cut. | If they had had anything worth | while to accuse us of when they de- | clared war on France, the Germans would have said so then—instead of | inventing such tales as a bombard ment of Nuremberg by our airplanes. {of which no Nuremberg paper had made any mention. It is to the credit of the Ambassador who was ordered to declare war on us for such causes— Baron von Schoen—that he wrote in his memoirs: ““That my name he tied to a grave mistake. which took the appearance of a lie, is the most pain ful memory of my career.” The real truth s found in the blunt answer made one day at Charleville by Gen von Kess to an American diplomat: “We declared war because we were ready and the others were | not.”” An ominous statement. We cannot afford to be again ready. Our military needs are creased by the geographic nec for us to have ‘“covering troops that is, evertrained and ever-ready ones, to bar the frontler in case of attack, back of which mobillzation may take place. A country that hax between herself nd any possible enemy covering forces consisting of 3,000 miles of water on one side and 4000 on the other knows no such needs. We have nevertheless dimin {ished the total of our defense f by nearly one-half since 1913 nd | spend much less for defense than the United States, who have no enemies, nd then the British, whose country ix “set in the silver sea.” un in sity rees National Defense Figures. Listening recently to a lecture de livered by the chief of our staff, I| noted the following figures on expen. | ditures for national defense—all in! #old francs 1014 19 France (including colonies) — 150,000,000 fr. 1,383.000.000 fr. £2.800,000.000 included. ~ Dominione United Statea— <1.186,000.000 Great Britam (India exeluded | — 2.700.000.000 3.800.000.000 h our defense one-half, the n doubled theirs s nearly three Thus while we dimin by almost | United States more th land the English total |times as high as ours. As to which we do not complain or lecture any hody. Our detractors. however, do not care, and continue (o denounce us ax | the militaristic nation of the world |"There s an \invincible force. they know, in an oft-repeated misstate ment. But with all that.” some sayv (o us “your army (the number of which they kindly magnify) is the strongest in the world.” Supposing it to be so. why not? If there i any nation with | hetter sons to be on the watch {please name her. 1f we had Canadians | [for our neighbors, we would gladly {reduce our army naught: but we {have instead a nation whe, causin {thereby the greatest enthusiasm, had {solemnly resworn at The Hague in {1907 not to do what she did in 1914, land who has lately selected to lead | {her in the paths of peace Marshal von Hindenburg. If some Mexican chieftain invaded Texas you would, it is to be supposed, | | expel him, and we should certainly not | {call you militaristic, imperialistic or | any other name. | In Syria, a country which a French | | expedition in the 60s saved from the | terrible fate which has since befallen | have of late been { made: let those who never made any {in cealing with such problems cast the first stone at us. 1f, tired of a thankless task which we assumed at the uest of the | Syrians themselves, we were to o, the result, as M. Briand pointed out. would not be “independence for the country, but massacre.” If there is & nation ready to prevent what no | The 1 | failed to do so. | of all the | way FRENCH MONEY POLICIES DEFENDED BY JUSSERAND Former Ambassador Contradicts Opin- ions as to Expenditures and Hopes for Debt Payment. one cared to prevent in Armenia, let her speak. Another prdof of our militarism, im- perialism and despotism is that, while we accepted at the Washington con- ference (without thanks from any one) a lower rank on the seas than had been our lot for ages, when requested to give up, in addition to the rest, our submarines, we demurred. Instead of overtopping other na- tions in the matter of submarines and incurring on that score, as reported, unjustifiable expenses, we presently possess 51 (plus 21 building: total. while Great Britain has 13 the United Stat 126, Certain of our British friends who have apparently forgotten the name of the nation which attacked us some time have persistently alleged that London and the British Isles were the objective of our aviators. Perhaps we were wrong simply to igh at the suggestion—we to whom it never occurred that the British ecould have such great naval fore in the channel in order to u.mh,.' Cherbourg. We should have assured our neighbors that no havoc done to London, Westminster. their harbors or any other y in thelr country could glve us anvthing but pain However that may be, thelr govern- ment has recently announced that thefr present aviation program would give them more airplanes than we possess, at which news we did not even wince 2 xpaying Tssue. taristic, imperial taste for we hear, Besides being mil nd having an unholy rines, the French revel in luxury. Some foreign visit £o to Parisian places of amusement, find many foreign visitors reveling there and go home sayinz, “Those French are great revelers!” But the French, it is said, rebel against taxa- | tion and won't pay their debts Concerning the time-honored asper- | sion that we are undertaxed and. hy means fair or foul, escape even that taxation: Acknowledgeing that, like some other nations, we are not with- out our slackers, 1 shall quote no French authority or French statistics, but the most recent American hook dealing with the question—that of H. G. Moulton, published by the American Institute of Economics. It is rather severe on us in several re- . but as to taxation it reads There is no truth whatever in the prevalent assumption abroad that the French people do not and will not p taxes. The facts completely contra dict this contention, which has repeated so often that it has ¢ be almost universally helieved the author goes on to show that Irench, who in 1914 were the highly taxed people, paid in 1 that is, before the present supe ation—"in national taxes alone ne 19 per cent of the national income.” itish paid 185 per cent: the icans, even including in the cal culation national, State and local taxation, only 11.5 per cent. The load is the heavier for us because, ra ing to the same authority, it tional income Is, in the United States about $605 per capita. in Great Brit ain $395, in France only $195 Present Financial Positi Our present financial position is one of great difficulty, caused chiefly hy the destructions wrought by a war which we neither caused nor declared nor started. It wasx a question of justice and humanity for us to re store our ravaged 10 departments, and to begin at once, although labor terial and eapital were most The enemy was to have paid for th but until quite recently, and after events which it is needless 1o recall We had to work spend alone. The total up (pensions to the victims exchided) has been 60 to 70 billion franes, borrowed from our people: hetween 15 i 20 billfons are still to be spent. In the midst se anxieties es the question of oreign debts. We co n and have, of course. Lo |y though we are In a hard positior we were horrowing we the war we lent to ourselves about the same we borrowed from America 000.000. None of the horrowers shic any marked inclinat it horrowings were made under such unusual cireunm to many Amer to And the most Am the ma to date the 1cied since while lending wtions poorer thian " we During amount mto repay xp Amer denies it stances that, accordin ican authorities, an unusual mode of settlement would be in no way unfair When an ordinary debt is contracted vou give your note, take the money and do with it what vou please. In the present case it understood that the money would be used to bu American shells in order to fi enemies of America and of the allies Putting together what we paid for with our own and borrowéd mones we spent more in America than wir lent us. We spent $4.196.247.000. hay ing borrowed a little less than $3.000 000,000,000, So that if we received war supplies it was not without lea ing something behind When it was perceived how gr grew the danger of the war heing lo nd how it would be before American help of any mag nitude would be fortheoming, e most ample and generous offers f funds were made to us and we ware told not to worry about the future. We were advised in such @« way (hat we could not dissent, not to en courage the proposition, and were ssured that we should have no cause for regret. Much more money, as much as we should ever need. would e at our disposal: we need not trou ble about interest, and as for rep: ments, they would be easily arrm in the future (April 2. 1917 s to Repayn ake such friendly ally. but, entirely en- grossed by a life-and-death gxle, azuely hoped that repayment might be made, if not exactly at our pleas- ure. at least at such time as our capacity would allow us to conside it. without having to put an unbear- able burden on the population that is the hardest working and hardest tried e that took part in the war. Such was. in_any case, American sentiment when borrowing took place. ance went her way with all to the advantage, it seems. of rdy: for Representative 1n observed in the course of the same debates: “We are not prepared to place men in the fleld. * ¢ * There ix only one way in which todav we can do more than make our war an academic discussion.( and the only left us is to help finance those ions whe are fichting enr enemy.” Thix was not he and much Ameriean hlood was to be spilt_at the (Continued on’ Third Pages \ . was ht the at Tons military redd Hope We did not surances lite stri to