Evening Star Newspaper, March 21, 1926, Page 53

EDITORIAL PAGE NATIONAL PROBLEMS SPE CIAL FEATUPES Part 2—16 Pages HOPE OF LOCARNO TREATY FAR FROM REALIZATION Conflicting Ideas, Interests and -Ambi- tions of France and Germany Prohibit Harmony at Present. BY FRANK H. SIMONDS. ARIS: The longer one stavs in Paris the greater is the Im- pression not only that the drift away from Locarno Is most marked. but that American in terpretations of this famous agree ment have been far too optimistic and have tended to an undue extent to give it the character of a final settle. ment. What is impressive at the mo- ment is the growing difference of opin fon between Rritain and France and al8o hetween France and Germany of the real meaning of the pact. Locarno, as we saw it in the United Btates, was a contract with very defi- nite and precise terms which In giving France security insured a return to normal relations between the fwo great rivals and enemies. And back of the contract was that rater mys- terious thing which one speaks of everywhere as “the spirit of Locarno.” This spirit. so far as it meant any- thing, seemed to imply that every one was going to appreach a new world In a new tempe; to the contract were prepared to give It the same Interpretation. Securd Now Doubted. Rut now in France there is a great and growing apprehension that it will turn out that France has by the Lo- rarno agreement surrendered her freedom without obtaining any real security. Above all there is a steadily Increasing vestiveness against Britain because of the interpretations sh seem to be giving the recent Pursnant to the Locarno un standing. Gesmany I to be a_member of the league. But with what pur pose is Germany coming into the league? For the French this Is the allimportant question. 1s she coming prepared to accept the European sit uation as it is and share with the other Locarno members in the con molidation of the existing order? Is she, by contrast, coming resolved to make her membership in the league the opportunity for working for # transformation of many if not all of the war settlements? Other Aims Suspected. Is Germany out for the revision of the treaty of Versailles in most if not all of its essential detajls? Such a revision throws apen thé whole ques- tion of European stability. If Ger- many is to seek through the league 10 obtain the permission to unite with Austria; if Germany is to demand the remaking of the eastern frontiers by the suppression of the Polish Corridor and the return of Upper Silesia: if Germany is, in addition, as the recent episode in the Upper Adige which pro- voked Mussolini’s wrath suggests, go- ing to assert the right to speak for German-speaking minorities all over Furope, then certainlv a not a calm phase of history ginnning. 1& e The outstanding incident has bheen | the debate over the admission of Po land in the councii of the leagne as a permanent member together with German; The French see perfectly clearly that for an indefinite perlod Polo-German relations are going to be one of the danger points of Europe, perhaps the worst. They see that Germany will raise at Geneva the question of the Polish Corridor and a variety of other issues involving Po- land. They therefore believe that Po- land should he present always and they percelve that if Poland is not permanently represented on the coun cil. it may devolve upon France steadily to speak for her ally and thus to arrive at a position of disaccord with Germany. British Stand Irritates. Moreo the general British de nunciation of the idea of admitting Poland has rather irritated the French, who find themseives unable to explain the constant hostility of G Rritain to Poland and the ohvious readiness of British statesmen to sacrifice Poland to reconcile Germany. What France fears, for obvious rea sons, is that the British by supporting Germany in her present enterprises and particularly with respect to Po- land and of Austria. will contribute to making Germany as strong as she was | before the war, perhaps stronger. France fears above all, the creation of A great German-controlied Mitteleu- ropa, including not only Austria but Hungary, and either obliterating or mastering Czechoslovakia. This great eentral block. which would have close to 100,000,000 people, would in- evitably move southward to the Black 8ea and the Aegean. even to the Adriatic at Trieste. Tt would be in every way too powerful to he faced, even by a Franco-British combination, while even the eventual adhesion of Italy would hardly restore the bal- ance. New European Phase. The simple truth i= that the en- trance of Germanv Into the league which the French insisted upon at the moment of Locarno. has suddenly made manifest the fact that a new Furopean phase is opening. Musso- lini's denunciation of German preten- sfons in the U'pper Adige and his firm declaration that Italy would never consent to German union with Aus- tria ie only the Italian reaction to the same facts. Moreover, for both France and Italy as well as the states at the Wttle entente the recent currency randals in Hungary have had a pro- found meaning, for they represent the evident effort of the old governing class to overthrow the existing situa- tien hy restoring a Hapsburg to the throne and undertaking an effort 1o | abelish the treaties of peace. And it 18 the Paris view, at least. that the Budapest scandals had a Berlin angle and that certain élements in Germany were in close co.operation with the conspirators of Hungary. Germany Greatly Feared. 8o far from consolidating peace in Europe, then, the French are begin- ning to fear that Locarno supplied the basis for new dislocations. The mehtmare before all French eyes is the rise of a new and still more ag- gressive Germany, become more powerful even than Germany of 1914. The British view that the rise of such a Germany is inevitahle and that it need not concern the French now that they have a German guarantee of French integrity, backed by a British promise, does not satisfy the French. for the simple reason that they do not believe even the Britis® guarantee would be adequate to restrain Ger- many once the Teutonic state had risen to the proportions which the French now see as the ohjective of German policy. At the moment, then, there is a and that all parties | the | new and | Isider the possibility of the formation of some new bloc. Obviously Italy. the Little Entente and Poland a quite as much concerned as France | with the prospects of German expan sion. Indeed, these states are all more immediately concerned than France. But the difficuities in the way of the { formation of such a bloc are many, and the chief is the dominating dis | trust of Italy and Mussolini in I For much of what Mussolini say ldoes there is lond Fren | notably in the recent Upper Adige af- | fair: but the French recall that Mus- solinl was until recently profoundly anti-French. and they are still fearful of a recurrence of anti-French senti ment and even of fome German- Itallan understanding. This last fear seems ahsurd, for Italian and German interests clash almost everywhere, but it is a facte New Invasion Ne | What many Frenchmen ave asking |at the moment is whether the pact of | Loca not tied their hands, robbed them of all independence, made them silent pariners in a British fo eign policy which they increasingly | feel is bound in the long run to lead straight to supreme disaster and to a new invasion of France. And wel ome as is the British promise to stand with France in case of new aggres sion, there remains the profound real Ization that British aid before did not prevent the invasion of France and four years of fighting on French soil Is Locarno, sfter all, another illu- sion? That is the burden of French | tnquiry at tha moment. Of course, | " |as 1 have tried 1o make clear, the m ority of Frenchmen are ahsorbed in far more immediate problems which {are entirely domestic. But if you fol- low the French press, you cannot fail to see on all sides signs of disquiet and growing uneasiness. And at the bottom of this is the increasing fear that in return for more or less negli- gible benefits France has lost her free- dom in foreign affairs and heen made no more than the follower of Britain, No Bitter Resentment. It is not quite as it was in the old | Poincare-Lloyd George days, a sentl- | ment of bitter resentment and a feel- ing of having been betraved and abandoned. Rather the French feel that the British are not sufficlently ac- | auainted with the intricate questions | of the center of Europe to appre vealities. They regard Ni | Chamberlain #x an_honest and | intentioned man. who is certainly intent friendly to France. What they | distrust is not his good faith but his exact appreciation of present-day European conditions. The British conception that e that it is the part of wisdom ta pe mit Pos: from regions interesting | France or Britain—the conception which has heen general in Britian for some vears— finds no echo in France, | because the French helieve that, hev the east and south, she will ultimate- ly come back to the west to destre British and French resistance to her European hegemony. Have Opposing Beliefs. France believes that the real hope of peace is attainable only by persuad- ing Germany to accept the Europe which exists and to abandon all plans | which ‘can only be realized hy dimin- {ishing other nations and oversetting |existing frontiers. France bhelieves | that the wise policy now and hereafter Lis to consolidate Europe on existing |lines and allow Poland, | Jugoslavia and Rumania | vakia, to | achieve national construction and be- | come in due course oftime self- | sustaininz units in a generally con- | solidated Europe made up of peoples | which recognize the mutual Integrity of eacn others’ frontiers. Great Britain. by contrast, does not | helieve the existing order can he main tained. It conceives the suppression of the Danzig corridor and the return | |of Upper Silesfa to Germany. as well as the union of Austria with Germany, s Inevitable. Therefore, the British {idea 1s that instead of opposing what Is inevitable, the effort must be made to bring about the changes peacefull while always preventing any recu! i rence of Franco-German hostility. Both Oppose War. Now, manifestly. what we have here = a fundamental cleavage in opinion. There is no difference in moral values. The objective of British statesman- ship and of French is identical: name- 1y, to prevent war In general. and in particular to prevent war which might invelve themselves. But the two peo- ples and the two governments see the methods which must be employed from two utterly divergent points. The British belleve that France, having a British guarantee against German attack, should be will- ing to accept British advice as to the way to avoid any German hostili and as to the manner in which to ar- rive at permanent Franco-German peace. Guarantee Believed Futile. even the British guarantee will pro- tect them if Germany is permitted to expand until she becomes so strong that she will again feel able to chal- lenge the whole European order and to realize her dreams of hegemony. |which the French believe may easil return with restored power. More- over, for precisely this reason the French do not believe that the British guarantee i a good and sufficlent varrant for them to abandon all ef- forts to preserve existing conditions and therefore to restrain German ex- pansion. Obviously, then, as I have said, there is a fundamental cleavage he- tween the two countri over the meaning of Locarno. France cannot take the British view that it means permanent French security and re- sign herself to seeing Germany grow stronger in all directions. But the British, committed to the defense of France if she is attacked, cannot pa- tiently see France pursuing toward Germany policies which seem to the British likely to produce a new con- flict. And particularly the British are irritated because the French In- sist upon supporting Poland instead to 'make concessions which might placate Germany. League Now Battleground. With Germany a member, the league hecomes a battleground of conflicting _conceptions of European order and peace. And it is percisely the Locarno pact which has hrought about this prefound change which must have an enormous effect upon “marked tendency. in. France.te-cop— uture league historle Jndesds-in. & | many must be allowed to expand and that expansion, always as far as | ever much Germany may expand in | Czechoslo- | stand..| The French say and believe that not | " "EDITORIAL SECTION The Sunday WASHINGTON Millions Recovered in War Fraud Cases; U. S. Victimized Itself Through Contracts HAROLD B. ROGEI HAT hecame of all the teers”? aft the boys came mockery in il on foreign soll at the pay of $30 a hurled wholesale about popular sport fronically to brand teer” and demand that a governmi hy the insult_and struck in the poc “grafters” should make the * send the criminals to prison. What has heen the result? Since May, 19 heen at this work tions section it has gone about t a husiness-like way to find, not now, according to latest indication: is “in sight.” Were there as many “graftel v of them money much did the colle big job to completion More than $10,000,000 has profiteering in its general sense obtained so far in criminal cases cost of 1 Under present plans the work that in all_probability it will be maining 2 | nent organization of the Departmes torney General and director of th allprobability atlon is for the pending work transactlons section to be turned sistant Attorney General Herman These developments are somewh, upon action of the Senate on the 19 | tion bill for the Department of Ju Who does not remember the bue and cry that went up from all sides France? Charges that the profiteer had made a of patriotism and piled up huge sums otten gains at home while the hoys w fighting and dying in the battle for democracy the country. cals 1 the Department Through its war trans. general charges, but facts under the law this campaign of investigation and prosecution What Has Been Result rumor shouted to the heavens, and how have gone to jaill? How much has the Government retrieved, and how cost? How near been by the Department of Justice to have heen wide spread, but the actual number of real frauds disclosed has been comparatively few. Only two convictions and two pleas of guilty have heen dictments, The $10.600,000 was collected at a than 20 cents on the dollar. transactions section has been so far developed the end of this fiscal yvear; June 30, and its re. vitles turned over to the perma- ! Terome Michael, spectal assistant to the At actions section, will leave his post at the end of the fiscal year, under present plans, and re. turn to his law practice In New York City. In the war transactions section itself will be aboliched. The plan under consider- already passed by the House, has been reported out by the Senate appropriations committee, Under the bill as It stands at present the De- D. €, SUNDAY partment of Justice would expend on its war ud work for the fiscal year ending June 30, what part of the $1,000,000 appropriated his purpose for the present fiscal year is unexpended. This balance, Mr. Michael told the House committee on appropriatio about $300,000. In other words, the anticipated drop in activity for next vear from this year would be in the ratio of from 7 to 3. “war profi- 1097 for home from e By the end of thig month were It was the “patrio ent outraged cket nerve by . and have heer returned and those the Government h. ciently meritorious tion to Cases Still Pending. of Justice Indieation of the hand is disclosed by he matter in January rumors, not And s, the end of 40,146, volved £18,000,000. During the fis actions section approximately $175,000 year 19 than in under the is the were also $430. 991 said, fs aiffienlt the case A bre Government Ampalgn st 1d heen collected up cost collected, Jinnaia ix estimated T i pre out of 37 in- a of the war 09276 had this vear. On’ this basis figured that abolished at i the under than * may be spent. i of iess than 20 cents lowered materially. Indication of the frands was given nt of Justice, per cent. e war trans of the war over to Al J. Galloway. at dependent 27 appropria- ustice, which, eral the Government age: “When last vear, committee that we mated that all of the cases lacking merit to the War 1l open will causes of amount of work the figures showing that 9 there minal indictments and 111 actions involving Of the total amount cases, approximately $61,500,000 is in- in the cantonment cases, o that the remaining cases involve only al vear 1925 collected . and approxin he fiscal vear At the beginning of this calendar year there ndgments The valie of these judgments estimate, the defendants have appealed. d recapitulation of the work of the secuting ws that a tofal of $10.009.441.15 to the Government amounting to $2,700,000, of which only $1,973,- been expended of caleulation, cost the war fraud o lore collections. however. ide later as result of money already s pointed out. so that dwindling work the Mr. Michael, who went deeply Into the gen- principles underlying the Government's activities in this direction, the results obtained to date and criticism of both the profiteer and nt. we appeared hefore the committee said Mr. Michael, regarded investigating and prosecuting war frauds as an emergency work, to be completed at MORNING, MARCH larger than , will be The end s is esti- in Department he cases in which action suffi- require their prosecu- fiscal vear it next fi eral vears transactions are finally sible. however, to continne the work with diminishing po constanily ingzing of the eriticism now on were pending 6 involved in approximately liquidation been made, the war trans- he added in cash $3.217.731. more than in the fiscal tely $1,800,000 more 924. tions relativ red 1y aggregating of it is some of as in “The fts war fraud to January 1, 1926, at posed. in appropriations importance drawn. we by January 1 of light upon “We were placed in charge of the work of investigating and prosecuting war frauds al- most six Ve hecome extremely difficult, if not pr therefore, it of cash collections mpaign has heen less hen the estimate on the dollar may he effort on House committee war by ar and in although it been different agencies. work of all ve advised the the work « ® o Of mined” Star | 2 earliest possible opportunity, and we recom- mended an appropriation for that work much on the iheory that the larger appropriation would enable us not only to achieve better results in individual cases. but also to hasten the day when the work might be completed. “We hope that that the abolition of the war transactions sec- tion as a separate division of the department Is only the first step, although a considerable step. toward winding up this work. There will be considerable work cal vear and ft will probably be sev- “riming which partment of Justice from some quarters, Mr Michael told the committee that charges that frand and profiteering were committed on a large scale during the war and later in the significantly, cases involving fraud have heen discovered Although 37 frauds have been returned. only two convic- nd two pleas of guilty, and these in unimportant dismissed on the Government's motion. inference cither no honest and efficient effort was made to detect and punish war frauds or that war frands were not as prevelant Because we helieve it of the utmost ally 1mpossible, ore discovered. except in isolated cases, on of lapse of time. We belfeve tha has heen n rpetrated against the Government during the | fraud has gone undetected. in general or specific war transactions have the subject of Society News 1, 1926. had heretofore heen made for it, now in sight. we have made it clear to he done during the involving war Tt should be hefore the s closed appropriations.” straightforward discussion ses of the problem and the been leveled at the De- into ph: of war activities ha@ frequently both in and out of Congress, yet “comparatively few indictments charging war have been oh- 22 have been cases, these indictments nvestigations Explained. is,” he continued, “that as was sup- that the correct inference he deem it our duty to throw such the question as we can. after the armistice. It had to detect frauds not there- by an honest and determined e to detect the frauds the liquidation of war activities, i undoubtedly true that some | War transaction investigation by eight We are familiar with the these agencies and our knowledge of their work induces our belief that the effort | to detect war frauds was honest and deter- | (Continued on TI g i BY FREDERIC W ORN-EELT hooste tarm-relief legislation in Con- | rress are discomfited by evi- { dence from “hack home™ that thelr calamity howl has no real basis in fact. lowa, whence the current “Des Moines movement” for !\'fln! Government ald to agriculture originated, far from being poverty- | stricken, depicted as rolling in { wealth. Not only that, but the source | ot its opulence is proudly proclaimed [to be the very farm product—corn— { which Midwest farm politicians now |Tobbying on Capitol Hill are touting las the root cause of lowa's ecenomic woe. The glaring contradiction hetween ‘the farm politicians’ protestations of |ruin an@ Towa's own hoasts of afflu ence has become one of the amusing | political mysteries of the hour. Mem- bers of Congress are aware of it. Un- til it is cleared up the proponents of hundred-million-dollar ralds on the Federal Treasury in the guise of | “farm velet” are doomed to have | harder sledding tham ever. To date | they have found the going exceedingly | vough. MW of radical Advertisement Is Cited. Authorities who have been a little skeptical about the sincerity and ac- curacy of farm politicians’ claim re- garding Midwestern agricultural con- ditions have just had brought to their attention an amazing advertisement recently published in Eastern metro- politan newspapers. It is sponsored and pald for by the “lowa Daily | Press Association,” of Davenport, which consists of 31 dally newspapers published in different Hawkeye cities. The advertisement fills a full page. Its outstanding feature is the picture of a chuckling lowa farmer vainly trying to shoulder a basket overflowing with ears of corn. The i basket is labeled *'C'orn—477,386,000 bushels tn 192 Adjacent to the picture is the legend: “$300,753.180— Value of the lowa Corn Crop for 1925. Largest in State’s history, both in bushels and dollars. Adding value of other products brings total up to ahout $2,000,000,000!"" “Prosperity—Plenty of It." “If this isn't prosperity—and plenty of it—then we don’t know what pros- perity is!"'the advertisement later on exclaims, and continues: { “Some people 'may have been mis- led hy recent statements that lowa corn was selling for 50 cents a bushel. That is positively untrue. On the very day such statements were made. lowa corn was selling at the country elevators for 63 cents a hushel! This means that the lgwa 1925 corn crop of 477,386,000 busheis is worth to the farmers themselves $300,753,000— that's equal to about $50 apiece for every man, woman and child in New York! “And that is a very conservative estimate. For a large part of Jowa's corn s fed to hogs, where it brings a much higher price. In other words the real value of lowa's corn crop is actually far in execess of the figure quoied abov “If to this we add the value of lowa's other crops, and the value of its live stock. poultry, dairy products, industry and coal, the State can show a new wealth of almost two billion dollars. “The fact of the matter is that to- day—right now—Iowa offers one of the most profitable and responsive markets in the entire country. Even — e very real sense it is only now that the European problem. And one must perceive that a rather sudden realization of this fact explains, in part, the new current in French feeling, which may be de- seribed as a reaction from Locarno. Perhaps it also explains why dis- cussion, real discussion, of arms limi- tatlon Is not taken serfously In Eu- rope at the moment. (Copgrieh. 1926, v the McCluze Newspaper DISCOMFITURE COMES TO BACKERS | OF RADICAL FARM RELIEF PLANS Figures in Prosperity From “Back Home” States Discredit Claims of Some Members of Congress. hefore the addition 000,000 of new wealt average wealth of ¢ family in the State. Other lowa Figures. One of the principal agricultural journals of the Midwest. which is behind the drive for radical farm- relief legislation, is Wallace's Farm- er, formerly the property of the late Henry C. Wallace, Secrefary of Agri- culture, and still in his family's own- ership. Not long ago Wallace's Farm- er sent broadcast over the countr. a striking folder, labeled “Iowa Con- tinues to Lead in Farm Wealth. Corn crop figures and incidental State prosperity were described as ot a boom—but the largest farm ncome In five vears." The 1925 corn harvest was heralded as “the largest Towa has ever produced.” Corn, plive stock and poultry, according to Wallace's Farmer, “make it em- of this $2.000.. lowa had an 00 for every leadership in farm cash income. not only in the corn helt, but in the Na- tion.” The journal takes pride in | quoting testimonials from farmers, | giving Wallace’s Farmer “credit for a sood share of the improved out- | look. This writer asked Senator Albert B. Cummins, Republican, of Towa the significance of the discrepancy be- tween corn belt hooster claims and corn helt calamity plaints. He ex- pressed the opinion that things are not so good as the boosters profess or so bad as the prophets of despair pretend. The veteran Hawkeve states- man conveyed the impression that the truth lies someswhere between the boasting and the blubber. Cummins for Legislation. “I am myself strongly in favor of ‘radical’ farm-relief legislation.” Sen- ator Cummins explained. standing what fizures may show in corn bushels and corn dollars, the fact remalns that from 40 to 50 per cent of lowa's corn is sold as corn and not as feed, and that for a long time it has had to be sold at figures that represent an actual dollar-and-cent loss to the farmer who raises it. That means that thousands of corn belt farmers are finding it impossible to make both ends meet. That is why they demand that, by hook or by ecrook, some agency be found to help them out of their plight, to re- lieve which ordinary supply-and-de- mand conditions have proved insuffi- cient. “The overwhelming and insistent need is for removal, by some method. of the surplus crop. The farmer needs outside aid in effecting that re- moval, where the manufacturer does not require it. The manufacturer can control and regulate Ris output to sult market conditions. But the farmer cannot. The farmer can limit the amount of acreage he plants. But he cannot determine the amount of grain that will sprout from an acre or any given number of acres. That is regulated by factors wholly beyond his control.” (Covyright. 1926.) Merchants in Chim; To Fight Lawlessness Faced by an alarming increase in lawlessness, Chinese merchants living in Chapei, outside of Shanghai’s inter- national settlement, have decided to form their own protection corps. of joining in an effort to force Poland | jeague is seized with the whole Plans have been discussed for the ralsing of sufficient funds. ~ s One protective force already exists, but Chapel merchants at the other side of the city claim that this corps. does not sufficiently protect their in- teresty. Recently the Chinese police chief,” Col. Yen Chung-yang, was obliged to {increase his force, but owing to the uncertainties of the gen- eral political situation the increase a8 Dok AdeQuaiss. . | phatically pessible for Iowa to retain | | the mon FILIPINO HEADS DEFY COOLIDGE; TRIUMVIRATE RULES ISLAND New System of Governmental Control Set Up With-| out Consulting People—Results of 1925 Elec- ‘ tions Now Standing Completely Nullified. BY NORBERT LYONS. Sreretars » American Cnamber of Commerce of the Philippine Telands. Following President Coolidge's sage to Congress in which he gested the augmentation of the gov- ernor general's powers as a step nec- essary in the exercise of our national obligations toward the Filipino people, a remarkable serles of events took place in Manila, conceived and ma- neuvered by Manuel Quezon, president of the Philippine Senate and head of the Nationalist-Consolidated party. As a result, the leaders of the two great political parties in the islands are mes, Sug- lined up in opposition to the Presi-| dent’s policy and have organized a| system of governmental control by a triumylrate, in defiance of the organic law of the islands. In this move the people were not at all consulted, and by it the results of the 1925 elections stand completely nullified. r. Coolidge’s pronouncement was in effect a direct blow at the “imme- | diate independence’’ campalgn spon- sored by Mr. Quezon's party. It made manifest to the Filipino people that all and effort expended on yrzanized propaganda and special “ia- dependence missions” to the United States in'the past six vears had been wasted—that the activities of the ma- Jority party in behalf of immediate in- dependence had not only been ineffec- tive, but had, in point of fact, produc- ed a result directly contrary to the one expected. = Mr. Quezon was shocked, and well he might have been, for the situation gave the Democrata minority an ex- cellent opportunity to capitalize the failure of the majority's principal ac- tivity and made a Democrata victory ir the elections two years hence a virtual certainty. To save what he | could of hls own position of leader. “Notwith- | ship and of his perty’'s control in local governmental affairs Quezon pro- posed the formation of a coalition be- tween the Nationalist and Democrata parties, with the avowed object of pre- senting a solid, united front against the progress of the “imperialistic’ cause in the United States as evi- denced by the President’s message. The Democrata leaders, however, were not to be precipitated into such |4 mave. They sensed the local politf | el significance of the situation and knew they had the Nationalists on the However, rather than wait two years for the practical realization at the polls of their political advantage, and take a chance at what might hap- pen in the interim, they agreed to en-| ter into the proposed coalition on the condition that they may be given an equal participation in the government- al patronage. | Quezon agreed to this condition, and | a supreme national council was formed, composed of five Nationallst and five Democrata leaders, with! Quezon as its president and a Demo- crata as its secretary. The Demo- cratas were promised one of the two Washington resident commissioner- | ships. now held by Nationalists, the | speakership of the House. and an| equal share in the governmental of-| fices under the control of the majori party. | Now the Legislature had been elected by popular vote, and when the Nationalist leaders renounced the ma- | Jority control they had won at the| polls they acted without consulting | | their constituents. thus stultifying the | basic principle of democratic govern. | ment, for they nullified the practical | workings of the theory of majority rule. It was as if the Republican n; tional committee in this count were to make an arbitrary agreement with the Democratic national com- mittee to share the governmental| patronage for the remainder of the present Republican administration. As the situation stands, the Philip- pine Legislature is for all practical purposes nothing hut a dummy organi- zatlon for the formal ratification of acts of the supreme national council, a politeal triumvirate cleverly engi neered hv Quezon for personal political eflds. The council is by no means a spontaneous popular development. Only 19 of the 136 members of the Philippine Legislature advocated its| creation, and it has met stern opposi- tion from many Filipino quarters, but Quezon has for the moment triumphed and created a unique situation, one which would seem to justify President Coolldge’s doubts as to the readiness of the Filipino people for complete autonomy. Denial of Foreign BY WILLIAM HENRY KING, Senator from Utah. For many yvears efforts have heen made in the United States by various industries to prevent foreign compe- tition through the erection of tariff barriers, and to destroy domestic com- petition by massing wealth in gi- gantic monopolies which ruthlessly devour competitors. The Sherman anti-trust law was enacted because of the recognized menace of predatory wealth and monopolies and combina- tions to restrain trade and secure ex- tortionate prices for the commodities consumed by the people. The com- petitive system is a part of our eco- nomic and industrial life. Statesmen and political economists have recog- nized that the overthrow of this sys- tem would enthrone.monopoly, which would be a precursor of socfalism. Socialism will not thrive where the laws of supply and demand have free play and where individual effort has a fair fleld for development. De- mocracy is the antithesis of socialism, as it is of all forms of oligarchy. An oligarchy of wealth may masquerade as a republié, but its power to de- stroy liberty—political and industri- al—may still exist. There s scarcely an article or com- modity that enters into interstate commerce that is not directly or in- directly controlled by some powerful monopolistic organization. These or- ganizations control \not only our eco- apd husiness Trade Com Held “Thin Edge” petition of Socialist Wedge our political policies, mestic. The Sherman and Clayton acts for a number of years have beea flouted by men of great wealth and corpora- tlons possessing enormous interests, and the Federal Government has looked with complacency upon the ruthless and destructive course of monopolies, and apparently has ap. proved of their deadly and destruc- tive work. And the people, by reason | of their constant contacts with giant- ism, seem either terrified or nar- cotized. Wealth unrestrained, no matter in whose hands it may be. sooner or later becomes a despot. When it controls wages, production and distribution, it controls the people and holds their lives and liberty in its all-powerful hand. Our railroads are to be con- solidated. Most of the raw materials and the manufactured products are controlled by corporations exercizing monopolistic control, either actually or potentially. T repeat, the safety and security of this Republic, not only political but industrial, depends upon the preserva- tion of the competitive system in our economic life. There must be a free and fair field for individual fnitiative and for the efforts of young men of courage and genius. The doors of economic and business opportunity must be open for every American bo; and the hope and expectation of m: terial reward must be held out te all. , r_nrelgn and do- | gestion and opinion of individua RESPITE “LAME DUCKS” TO GET IN CONGRESS Constitutional Change Involves Many Questions, and House Leaders Desire Long and Careful Study. This is the first of a xevies of articles on’ proposals to amend_the Constitution of the I'nited Siates aftecting the rerms of Tongress. the President ond Vice President RBY WILL P. KENNEDY. HE Norris amendment and the White amendment. proposing changes in the Constitution of the United States, osten sibly to abolish the so-called “lame duck" session, with the spe- clous argument that this would ob- viate the service of men after they had been repudiated by the voters, are not likely to be acted upon at the present session of Congress. ‘This is because the proposed change is too important an alteration in the fundamental law and well establish- | ed practice to ba made without the most careful study and consideration. Here again the House is demonstrat- | ing its readiness to assume respon- sibility for deliberation and extreme care in important legislation where the Senate has acted hastily. Want Complete Study. Speaker Longworth and House | Leader Tilson, while approaching this legislation with open minds and un- prejudiced are yet firm in their con- viction that no action should be taken to disturb the present system of Gov- | ernment. especlally through a change in constitutional provision, without microscopic and complete study and analysis of all that Is {nvolved. Such a study is being made by and for the leaders of the responsible majority in the House. This examination has revealed that the proposition in its present form has undergone so many changes since its first presentation three vears ago. and been amended in so many and im- portant respects. upon the mere sug. as to arouse very grave doubts whether the proposition in its present form is the last word on the subject. The question is raised whether or not in the light of the experience of the last three years in the attempt to frame a constitutional amendment there might still be other suggestions | might perfect it Norris amendment—fixing the commencement of the term of Presi- dent and Vice President and members of Congress, and fixing the time of the assembling Congress—passed the Senate February 6. and was reported to the House February 24, 1926. The White amendment, which is proposed as a substitute for the Nor- ris amendment, was reported favor- ably on February 17, from the com- mittee on the election of President, Vice President and Representatives in that The ! Congress, and is pending on the House | der this and calenda ‘What Amendment Does. The Norris amendment fixes the third Monday in January, at noon, for the commencement and ending of the terms of the President and Vice Presi- dent: the White amendment fixes the 24th day of January. The Norris amendment fixes the first Monday in January for the commence- ment and ending of the terms of Sen- ators and Representatives: the White amendment fixes the 4th day of Jan- vary. The Norris amendment fixes the first Monday in January as the annual meeting day of Congress: the White amendment fixes the 4th day of Jan- uary. The Norris amendment fixes 15th day of October, after its fication, as the effective date; the White amendment fixes the 15th day of November of the vear following ratification as the effective date. Tn effect, both proposed amendments the rati- | would radically change the Constitu- tion. not only as to these dates but alsa as to the presidential succession. The White Amendment. The White amendment embraces at | least 10 distinct propositions, as fol- lows: Ends and commences the terms of the President and Vice President at noon on the 24th day of January, in- stead of on March 4 at noon. Ends and commences the terms of Senators and Representatives on the 4th day of January, instead of on March 4 at noon. Changes the annual meeting day of Congress from the first Monday in December to the 4th day of January. Congress may by law appoint a dif- ferent day. (The authority still re- mains in the President: to call an extraordinary session.) When the election of a President is “thrown™ into the House, and the House fails to elect a President be- tween January 4 and January 24 (20 days), then the Vice President (chosen by the Senate) becomes acting Presi- dent, until the House chooses a Presi- dent. In case of failure of the House to elect a President, or the Senate to elect a Vice President, between Jan- uary 4 and January 24 (20 days) then Congress may declare what officer shall act as President until the House chooses a President or the Senate chooses a Vice President. If the President-elect dies before January 24, the Vice President-elect becomes President. 1t both President and Vice Presi- dent elect die hefore January 24, Con- gress may provide for such case. - Proposed changes as to terms of President and of Senators and Rep- resentatives, and of the meeting day of Congress effective November 30 in the year following ratification of the amendment. . Presidential Succession. ‘This proposal to amend the Con- stitution, from its original purpose, which was to do away with a so- called “lame duck” Congress. has become enlarged so as to embrace propositions concerning the presiden- tial succession. One of these is to permit the House, in case the elec- tion is thrown into that body, to con- tinue to vote for a President beyond the beginning of the presidential term, the Vice President, if one should be elected by the Senate, to be merely the acting President until the House should elect one. ‘This is such a‘radical proposal and fraught with so many possibilities as to warrent the apprehension, which is entertained by those who have studied the question closely, that in case of a deadlock in_the ‘House the question of the presidency might be a hone of contention in the House dur- ing the entire presidential term, while in the White House would be a Presi- dent in name only. who would exer- cise no power or influence, being only a temporary President, one who could not have any policy of his own nor prestige, and who would be subject ta-the will of tlfinmu- of Repre sentatives, as also would he the man whom the House of Representatives might eventually elect. Another serious ohjection to the proposal to hegin the terms of Sen ators and Representatives early in s January (the Norris amendment fixes the first Monday In January and the White amendment fixes the fourth day in January) and to hegin the terms of the President and Vice President 2 weeks to 20 daye later (Norris _amendment the third Mon- day in January and the White amend- | ment the 24th day of January) in order to permit a new administration and a new (Congress promptly to function after the November elections, is that in the case of an election he- ing thrown into the House the same set of circumstances that would pro- voke and produce such an occasion might also, and probably would. re- sult in preventing or making diffi- cult the prompt organization of the House of Representatives in the new | Congress. For until the House is or- anized by the election of a Speaker, who adminisiers the cath of office to the members, the House would be powerless to function and unable to proceed to the election of a Presi- dent. Under the present syetem. which has obtained for 137 vears, a decision by the House would not he accom- panied by any doubt as to the legality of it organization. heing already or- ganized and in existence Still another proposition which com- mends itself, and regarding which there is practically unanimity of opin- {fon. ‘is the one providing for the case | where hoth the President and Presi- | dentelect may die hefore the hegin- ning of the term, in which case the Congress could provide hy law what officer shall act until the House should elect a President or the Senate should elect a Vice President. Another Objection Cited. Up to the point where Congress is empowered to provide by law for the succession by the appointment of an acting President, the proposed amend- ment differs in substance little from the existing presidential succession act. But in going further and empow | ering the House or Senate, one or the other, to elect a President or Vice President, as the case may le. who | would succeed such temporary officer, | the door is opened to what might be. come a race between the House and | Senate as to which would act first, and the man first selected would then | become the President for the full term, less such time as the temporary officer shall have served. The possibilities of complieations un- ther provisions is so | great that it is thought the proposed | amendment should underzo the most searching study by eminent lawvers, both in and out of Conzress. hefore amending the Constitution ta cure al leged evils under the present svstem and to provide for casus omissus, ! which might prove to he even weorse than the ilis which they seek to cure. Long Study Is Likely. So it {s probable that the hest lex talent of the country will be invited to study this problem exhaustively and make recommendations to Con- gress and possibly through creation of a commission on the electoral svs- | tem of the United States Propo: in a bill introduced on Fehruary 17 by Representative Millard E. Tvdings. Democrat. of Maryland—the same day that the White amendment was favor- ably reported from committee to the House. This proposes a serfes of 11 hypothetical questions, to he decided. follows: Does the Secretary of the Senate succeed to the presidency if for any reason there is no constitutionally elected President hy March 47 Shall there he a special election. or does the person succeeding to the presidency fill out the unexpired term? If the election were ardered in case of a vacancy in the office could it be for the unexpired term, or would it have to be for a term of four vears, thus disarranging the four- vear period of the Government? Does the commission of a Cabinet officer expire on March 4, and would this prevent succession? For what length of time would a cabinet officer act as President” Shall the choice of a Chief Execu tive be intrusted to the House of Representatives, about to go out of existence, when such House may even be under control of the party defeated at the preceding Novembher | election? | Where the President-elect dies he- fore the second Wednesday in Feb- ruary, may the House of Represent tives elect a President? Question as to Count. In case of failure to count the votes and declare the results by the ith of March, where the electors have not failed to elect, but Congress has failed to declare the result, may the count continue? Would the Vice President, or the Vice Presidentelect succeed to the presidency should the ~ President elect die before the dth of March?® Who would be President in case hoth President-elect and Vice Presi- dent-elect should die before March 47 If more than three persons voted for as President should receive the highest number and an equal num- ber of votes in the electoral college. and suppose there were six candi- ] dates, three of whom had an equal (number, whe is to be preferred? If there should he more than two of the candidates for the vice presi- dency in a similar category, for how many, then, and for whom, would e Senate vote? lhn' a candidate for President should die after the election and before Jan- uary 12 and before the electors met, ow should they vote? b If the President-elect should die after the electoral college has met and before Congress counted the vote, how could the vote he counted? Or could it be postponed? . All of which shows that there is doubt on many points, where there should be certainty, if the Constitu- tion is to be changed for the pre- fecting of our electoral system. “Lame Duck” Situation. Now all this bugaboo about a “lame duck Congress” isn't as seri- ous as it has been made to appear, when you reafize conditioris carefullv, accotding’ to House léaders. In the view of the proponents of these Con- stitutional amendments a “lame duck Congress™ is one whose members have been discredited at the polls. This lis found to be grossly exaggerated, upon close analysis. Take for example the composition of the present Sixty-ninth Congress, “ (Contivfued on Third Page) ™