Evening Star Newspaper, September 29, 1929, Page 45

. BRITISH MASSES FORCED NAVAL ACCORD WITH U. S. *MacDonald’s Success in Election Laid to Desire for Friendship Between Two Nations. BY FRANK H. smoins. NCOMPLETE as the Anglo-Ameri- can naval negotiations remain, it \ is conceivable that any reason- able person should not agree to any compromise that might be hit upon to bridge the remaining gap. Nor can qne fail at once to give full recog- nition to the extent to which MacDon- . ald has already gone to make agree- ment possible. As compared with what Lord Cush- endun proposed at Geneva at the futile conference of two years ago, the Brit- ish Labor premier has scaled down the estimate of British necessity from 170 ships to 50 and from something like 450,000 tons to 339,000 ‘Today the British assert that an equivalent of their estimate of their necessary strength would be 330,000 tons distributed between eighteen 10,000-ton boats and seventeen 7,000~ ton craft. For themselves, they dis- tribute their tonnage between fifteen 10,000-ton boats and thirty-five averag- ing between 6,000 and 7,000 tons. What U. S. Seeks. We, on our vart, ask for twenty-one 10,000-ton boats and fifteen 7,000-ton ships. In all cases the larger boats carry 8-inch guns and the smaller 6-inch guns. In practice the differ- ence comes down to the question of whether we shall have 315,000 or 300,000 tons against 339,000 tons for the British. Unquestionably in this situation neither the British nor the American estimate of American equivalent can be accepted, but just as certainly the compromise that can easily emerge will insure for the United States something as near equality as is possible in an inexact world. It may be possible to argue in technical terms and for ex- perts to disagree, but the sensible man in the street, both in London and in ‘Washington, can hardly fail to be satis- fled with the result. ‘The satisfactory character of the ap- proaching settlement is adequately dis- closed the moment one undertakes to examine the larger question of policy underlying the merely technical prob- lem of parity. At botlom the American demand for equality was based upon the conviction that the single sure way to avoid being involved in any future con- flict in which Britain was a belligerent was to possess a navy equal to the British and thus so strong that Britain at war would be bound to weigh— against any possible advantage in dis- regarding our rights as a neutral—the hazard of enlisting our fleet on the side of her opponent. American Striking Force. But whether we have 18 or 21 10,000~ ton cruisers and 300,000 or 315,000 tons of crpisers, we are assured of a fleet adequate to wage neutrality and strong enough to make it dangerous for the British to invade our rights, as was dope in 1812 and in 1914-15-16. In pofat of fact, given the extent and the scattered character of Britain's respon- sibilities, we are bound in either case to ve a greater capacity for concentra- tion and a more powerful striking force. In afly event, then, we have got what we were after, and we have got it largely because the mass of the British people recognized after Geneva and after the futile Anglo-French naval agreement that Anglo-American rela- tions were becoming disagreeable, if not dangerous. And the mass of the British people were prepared to pay what seemed to them a stiff price to put an end to a controversy that they regarded as intolerable No single detail in the political up- heaval that brought Labor to power and MacDonald to Downing street was more unmistakable than the ' condemnauon of the Tory policy that had been re- sponsible for Anglo-American bick.r- ings. And MacDonald in his proposals has certainly gone further in the way of concessions than most observers had believed possible. Whether the British or American pro- posal be adopted—or, as is much more likely, a fair compromise be hit upon— the result will be that the British have agreed to recognize in our case a right they have for more than two centuries refused to grant to any other people. It is true that the alternative was a long, costly and in the end losing com- tition, butethis does not in the least lessen the significance of the decision or diminish the importance of the con- cessions. Submarine Issue Remains. Moreover, nothing is less likely than that MacDonald, when he comes to talk with the President, will undertake to lessen the value of his concessions, either by discussing the question of alll ance, which is absurd, or of debt can- cellation, which is at the least untimely. An agreement upon the naval question will of itself suffice to liquidate the only | dispute of any. importance we have, or can have, with the British and restore Anglo-American relations to a satisfac- tory basis. ‘One obvious danger, however, remains to be faced. The Washington confer- ence ended in a very unpleasani rum- pus because the British tried to enlist our aid in abolishing the submarine. But_ PFrance, Italy, Japan and many smaller nations were then and are still convinced of the usefulness to them of the undersea boat. And Prance is today at least as displeased with British policy as she was in 1922. ‘While it is unlikely that either Italy or France will refuse to attend a new conference, as they declined to go.to Geneva, both will go to any new meet- ing disgruntled, suspicious and by ro means disposed to make any conces- sions. France would like nothing hetter than to see the Labor government cver- thrown, since she believes it to be hos- tile. As for Italy, she was the worst sufferer from the Snowden tactics at ‘The Hague. ‘Wholly apart from The Hague episode, too, France and all other Continental powers are instinctively, if absurdly, fearful of what they describe as Anglo- Saxon hegemony. They have already begun to read into the proposed naval agreement a meaning that goes far be- yond any narrow question of parity and extends to that of actual partnership— financial, naval and political. In a word, France is even more disgruntled than in 1921-22, when her representa- tives upset most of Mr. Hughes' pro- gram at Washington. Italy is in a still worse temper. Fine Diplomacy Needed. Such being the case. it is going to require a good deal of real diplomacy to engineer any Anglo-American pro- gram through a new conference. And, to a degree at least, any agreement be- tween ourselves and the British must be contingent upon an_acceptance of cer- tain ratios by both France and Italy, to say nothing of Japan. This is the case because British cruiser strength is nat urally to a degree based upon the strength of the two.Mediterranean pow- ers. Australia and New Zealand are equally concerned about Japanese ton- nage. If Japan agrees, Britain and the United States can go ahead, as they were prepared to do had the Geneva conference succeeded, but agreement will be subject to modification to meet any French and Italian circumstances, and the value of the agreement may thus be materially reduced. Nor can one overlook the fact that the British course at Geneva has aroused Conti- nental resentment, since it suggests a reversal in the matter of reserves. There will in all probability be opposi- tion in Parllament and in Congress— more serious in the latter—but it does not seem possible that one of the most statesmanlike agreements of our own time can be wrecked by legislative re- jection. And in my judgment it would be an inexcusable folly if the American Congress assumed responsibility for such a disaster. British Good Will Seen. I do not see how any people could have given a more convincing evidence of a desire to reach a friendly and rea- sonable agreement than the British have now supplied, nor how any fairer solu- tion of the vexed question of parity could be discovered. In their desire to put an end to a lamentable controversy the British government and the British people have come at least half way. Not only the United States and Britain but the whole world will be advantaged by a settlement. Naturally, as an American, I should prefer that our estimates prevailed and that we should have 21 rather than 18 10,000-ton cruisers and all the tons-of additional cruisers our experts propose. But whether the British or American | estimates are adopted, we have attained substantial parity. The day an agree- ment is officially accepted will prove the most profitable day’s work for peace since Locarno, not because there was danger of an Anglo-American war, but because if Great Britain and the United States could not agree about armaments it was hopeless to expect the curtail- ment of armaments and the cessation of preparation for new wars anywhere on this planet. (Copyright, 1920.) Model Italian School at Milan Develops Progressive System of Teaching Children BY CARROLL BINDER. A dun-colored cow, a dozen bables aged from 6 months to 2 years, some beehives, a wheat field and & room full of mulberry leaf-chewing silkworms are important teaching materials in the best elementary school in Italy at Milan, which is also one of the outstanding ed- :cnuon-l undertakings of the presept ay. . Alert European educators go to the United States to study the schools of ‘Winnetka, Gary, Detroit and other pro- ive American communities. Far om content with the results thus far obtained, the Americans tour Europe in quest of new ideas and new methods. Few, however, of these educational scouts include Italy in their investiga- :dkmx. wnut in Milan u‘ a school ln&l;n ucator as “progressive” as anything to be found gx America or England. Signora Giuseppina Pizzigoni has been doing, in this bustling Italian industrial and commercial city, education pioneer- ing in no way inferior to that of Wil- liam Wirt and other disciples of John Dewey at Gary and in other American communities. Doing it for 19 years, too. I visited the “‘Scuola Rinnovata” in the Ghisolfa quarter of Milan—a work- ers’ district on the outskirts of the «wity—before I interviewed the creator of this school. The creation was as fascinating as the creator. One was seflected in the other. Platoon System Used. . T thought I was back in the United Btates when I beheld the handsome red brick buildings constituting the “Scuola Rinnovata.” Their like is to be seen in Ravinia and other northshore towns. ‘The interior of the buildings was remi- niscent of progressive American schooels —wide corridors through which trooped children going from one class tor an- other (the much discussed platoon sys- tem), brightly colored pictures, repro- wuctons of famous bits of sculpture, movable tables and chairs in place of benches or (where there were desks) desks designed to save the eysight and aid the posture of the pupils. The cur- riculum, too, bxr; many ra:m}ihneu to [3 ‘mflmlve erican school. re were the machfne and carpen- shops, the printing plant, the foun- the kitchen and sewing room, the room: where the teachers are se by pupils for practice lessons, the gymnasium and music rooms. And here was something which probably exists in no other public school in this part of Europe—an indoor swimming pool with swimming lessons as part of the curriculum. ‘The mild Italian climate enables ora Pizzigoni to offer her 490 pu- “education by experience,” whicHT#sades. ‘ ?mn never seen in any other public nhno'I. The children raise fields of e Pl e for en g‘om preparation and rotation of the arqpe and fighting of plant pests to harvesting and sale of the product. The cash. accounting provides lessous in arithmetic while other processes teach chemistry and other sciences. ‘The first five grades o' crate “class gardens” for which they keep books and ndle the proceeds collectively. Be- nning with the sixth grade each pupil has his own garden plot and everything is handled by him, under supervision of‘ the teacher, from choice of vegetables to be_planted to sale of the produce. Many of the class meet out-of- doors—near the gardens and wheat fields, the beehives, ehicken yards, pig- pen or in the room where thousands of silkworms are feeding. The relationship between teacher and pupll is of & com- radely sort rarely found in the conven- tional Itallan school. Girls Care for Babies. Perhaps the most novel class is that of the upper grade girls, who have full responsibility for the care of a dozen babies whose mothers dre unable to nurse them and are employed in naar- by factorjes. Parents of these babies pay for the care g(vz‘r; by the school. iron and woodwork .nade are sold and books kept of ex- penditures and receipts. At the end of the year each pupil le...as hew much he has earned. The are not dis- tributed in cash, however. The upper grades go on a fortnight's excursion to some interesting part of Italy which they have been studying. Stery of Piszigonl. Nothing 1less than genius was re- quired to create such a school in Italy. And statesmanship of a high orcer alone permitted this original undertaking to flourish under the political vicissitudes of the last 20 years. After 40 years of teaching, Signora Pizzigoni is a vivaci- ous, dynamic personality beloved by her 'elchfl'lm:’nd pupils and honored by the us comm 3 “I wanted to go on the stage,” Sig- nora Pizzigoni told me. “My mother wouldn't let me and I was f become a_teac! the schools. prisonlike, hopeless. I 5 Since I had to be in them, I determined to make them places of joy and adven- ture. By 1907 outlined the school I wanted to luct. Nowhere in the world was there one like it and my friends thought I was cracked. But by 1911 I persuaded an amiable supervisor let me experiment with the first two I had to upils through the higher ve fighting. Finally I got le school t moved into this sple; ‘They | grade THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., SEPTEMBER 29, 1929—PART 2 A Sword Hangs Over Stalin The Soviet Dictator’s Lust For Power May Sever the Thread BY DR. LEONTD STRAKHOVSKY. T WAS one morning in the pic- turesque city of Tiflin, former cap- ital of the Georgian Kingdom and at that time the main town of the Russian Caucasus and the residence _of° the viceroy, personally named the Czar. ‘The Evivanj Square was full of color and noise, as it was market day and Georgians, Ar- menians, Turks, Ossetins, Tcherkess and half a dozen of other Caucasian tribes came to the city from the plains of the River Kura or the mountains that surrounded Tiflis like a solid stone ring, in order to sell the product of their farming, cattle raising or home industry and to make purchases in the ' town. The merciless sun already was get- ting high and its beams heated the alr, the stone walls of the houses, the macadam of the pavement. Sheep were bleating, oxen moved lazily and the sound of bells hanging from their necks was drowned in the chaos of languages that filled the large square. In the only shady corner of the mar- ket handsome tall Georgians were sell- ing beautiful daggers and sabers, elab- orately decorated with silver and gold. In this group stood a solid-looking man, whose thick black mustache spread over the upper lip and nearly covered the whole mouth. He was talking to an old Tcherkess, who had participated in defending the independence of ti mountain tribes against the invasion of the Russian armies under the com- mand of the flery and resolute Gen. Ezmolov. A few steps away from this group a blond man, looking foreign to this southern crowd, sat silently at the entrance of a little Turkish cafe. The time was nearly 10 am., and the heat became more intense every minute. Procession Appears. ‘Then from the sunny corner of the square s procession appeared. Sur- rounded by a mounted guard, a vehicle driven by two horses made its way through the market. It was a wagon, painted dark green, with small, barred windows. It had the imperial crest painted on its sides, and it was trans- porting millions in banknotes from the railway stations to the state bank. But when it reached the shady corner of the Erivanj Square and was ready to engage itself into the narrow street that led up the mountain slope to the great white building of the state bank, suddenly, one after another, four ex- plosions shook the lazy, hot air of that morning, and in a second the wagon and the whole corner of the market was enveloped in heavy fumes from smoke bombs. Panic-stricken, the mounted guard blindly opened fire in all direc- tions, women screaming, men shouting, sheep bleating and the cracking of rifie and pistol shots. Then the smoke screen faded away, and the stupefled guards beheld an open and empty wagon, one of the men that were within it killed, the other wounded, the whole market place stirred up and fleeing as on the day of the great Tiflis earth- BY HENRY W. BUNN. HE followgng is a brief summary of the ‘mst importan}, news of the world for the seven days ended September 28: * ok kK GREAT BRITAIN.—After nearly & week of conversations in London tween M. Dovgalevsky, Russian Am- bassador to France, and Arthur Hen- derson, the British foreign minister, on September 27 the British foreign office announced that “agreement had been reached on the list of subjects to be settled by negotiation on the resumption of full diplomatic relations, including the exchange of Ambassadors.” This is vague, but the general inference is that the British government has ylelded to the Moscow government's insistence that exchange of Ambassadors must be unconditional, whereas London has been insisting that it must be conditional on | prior Muscovite assurances as to propa- ganda and debts. The world is agog for fuller information. P AUSTRIA.—The Austrian government headed by Chancellor Streeruwitz hav- ing resigned, a new government headed by Herr Schober, former chancellor, succeeds, Dr. Streeruwitz would not yleld to pressure from the so-called Austrian Fascists for action repressive of the Socialists. Herr Schober has his work cut out for him. A main demand of the Helmwehr (the militant organ- ization of the Fascists) is that Vienna be reduced to the status of a part of the province of Lower Austria, instead of being a province by itself, with, con- sequently a Socialist provincial and municipal government. The Streeruwitz government was one of conciliation. The word “conciliation” is not included in a Fascist vocabulary. Herr Schober is reputed a non-party man. PR CHINA —Dispatch after dispatch ar- rives telling of alarming development of & new military revolt led by the famous “Ironsides” division of Can- tonese troops, stationed at or in the vicinity of Ichang on the Yangtsze and headed by the redoubtable Gen. Chang Fa-Kwel. Nanking, however, declares that the numerous reports of successes of the mutinies against Nationalist troops are propaganda; which is s it may turn out. (Of reports just arrived, one announces a notable rebel success, while another declares the revolt crushed.) ‘There are rumors, also, of fresh activity of the Kwangsl outfit, with Canton as objective. * k k% UNITED STATES OF AMERICA— One suspects that the future chronicler will find that the most important de- velopment of the past week was the institution of a new “faculty,” namely, that of “Blind Flying,” by Lieut. James H. Doolittle, a man already famous for aerial exploits. For about a year Lieut. Doolittle and Prof. William Brown of the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology had been carrying on researches under the auspices of the Daniel ‘Guggenheim Fund for the promotion of aeronautics. The result was seen on September 24, when Lieut. Doolittle, his cockpit covered with opaque cloth, his new instrument his only guide, took off from Mitchel Field, flew a course, and made a perfect landing. Undoubtedly, in words of an eminent aviator, “an achievement of inestimable value to aviation.” be hanged, henceforth. * ok ok K THE LEAGUE _ASSEMBLY.—The tenth League Assembly came to an end on_September 25. resolution offered by Mr. Henderson, the British delegate. The result of the committee’s work will be submitted to next year's Assembly. I briefly alluded’ in last Sunday's issue to & resolution submitted to the t committee of the Assembly the Caucasian wars . s S JOSEPH V. STALIN Russia’s quake, and the authors of the robbery vanished. ‘Thus the great Tiflis robbery, or “ex- propriation,” to use the term that ter- rorists and revolutionaries had adopted in Ryssia at that time, was executed, with the help of the dark Georgian by the name of Djugashvill, allas Stalin, now dictator of a country with a popu- lation of 145,000,000, and of the blond, silent, forelgn-looking man whose name is now a symbol of regenerated Poland and another dictator marshal, Pilsudski, at that time Stalin's pal and now his bitterest enemy. This little story of Stalin’s bygone activity may serve as a short introduc- tion to a survey of his present deeds. 1t is only when you know the past of & man that you can judge his present actions. The Tiflis robbery showed Stalin to be bold, determined and shrewd. These are the main character- latter, indeed, ever meet, or by both, and they are of such tremendous im- portance in relation to the general question of disarmament that I find it advisable to quote them in full, as follows: “The Assembly, being convinced that a progressive and general reduction of armaments is urgently needed through- out the world, expresses the hope that the preparatory commission will finish its labors at the earlist possible mo- ment and consider that in completing a draft disarmament convention it should consider how far the following principles have been or ought to be adopted: “A. Application of the same prin- ciples to the reduction and limitation of personnel and material, whether of land, sea or air forces. “B. Limitation of the strength of a force, either by limiting its numbers or its peried of training or both. “C. Limitation of material, either directly by enumeration or indirectly “If a Man Die, Again?”’- IT And what can one answer to it? Every one of us childhood t& beli an after life. | remember, when was be- ginning to d and think a little, it occurred to me that, though | had been told there is a future life nobody had_ ever given me any proof. 8o industriously | set to work in the public library to read the works of the gre t men who ever lived and find proofs for myself. And | remember how, slowly at first, then faster and faster, | turned through one wise man’s book after another. “Surely this one will know,” to myself; “or this one; or this.” And suddenly the bitter truth flashed over me. They did not know, any more than | did. All their proofs were not proofs at all. In all ory there had never | enough to prove Almost everybody be! knew. It was a discovery that left me helpless at first; then slowly out of my helplessness | began to evolve a little system of my own. “The world say some men. through the operation of natural laws.” But who or what established the natural laws and set them to operating? When you can dump a | bricks on a corner lot, and watch them arrange themselves into a house—when you can empty a handful of springs and wheels and screws on my desk, let them gather er into a watch or for me to be- these thousands been is the age-old question, sked at the side of every y in taught in in God and just happened,” f e that all worlds could hav created, balanced, and moving in their separate orl all without any directing nce at all s, in- Dictator. istics of the man who rules Russia today. Lenin had no fllusions about Stalin. He knew the part Stalin had played to pave the road of Bolshevism in Rus- sia. At the same time he knew very well that Stalin was ambitious, un- scrupulous and daring. These “quali- ties” were good enough for the time the revolution was made, for the time of fighting, of bold, determined actions, for crushing enemies and gaining power, but Lenin knew that Stalin was not the man to bulld up a government, to lead a country in one of the most extraordinary social experiments that humanity has ever witnessed. There- fore when Lenin chose his cabinet he reserved to Stalin a post of no great political activity, but one that needed a man of Stalin's qualities. He made him commissar for the People of the East. Thus Djugashvili-Stalin became by budgetary limitation, or by both methods. “D. Recognition of a competent in- ternational authority to watch and re- port upon the execution of the treaty.” In the committee discussions a French member observed significantly, apropos of the proposed five-power naval parley: “It will be for the pre- paratory disarmament commission to take final decision on sea as well as land and air disarmament.” Lord Cecil concurred. It will be recalled that our repre- sentative on the preparatory disarma- ment commission, in order that the im- passe of that body might be ended and something at least accomplished, and to that end only, joined with the British and French representatives in agreeing to exclude the question of trained land reserves from considera- tion by the commission. His stand on war stocks was interesting. Finding a majority against direct limitation, he would not consent to indirect budgetary Shall He Live Moreover, if there is no intel- ligence in the universe, then the universe has created something greater than itself—for it has created you and m Is it easy to believe that a uni- e without personality could have created us who have per- sonality? to believe that part of created and now per- the universe? if there be a personality in the universe—a God—what kind of God is He? He must be at least ood as you or I. He could not have made us better than Himself. The worse can not create the better. And if He is a good God, is it reasonable to suppose that He would have planted in human ~hearts this unquenchable yearn- g for immortality, and left that yearning unsatisfied? You and | tould not have done you will, from the most savage race to the most cultured, you will find that same stinctive assurance that death not the end. Would [l God plant that assurance in his creatures merely to mock them? Without immortality the world is an answerless riddle. We are we struggle up through ent; and s we have reached our highest point of usefulness—we are cut off. What inefficiency! hard for me to bel, a universe that made y casts away its most precious .possession— human personality. personality tiny spark that shall not go out while He lives. If | cannct prove that th 80, neither can any one prove to me that it is not helpful, more efficient, to believe. (Copyright, 1920.) the man who broke down the Inde- pendent Soclalist Georgian- Republic and annexed its territory to Russia under - the incorporation of the new Georglan _Soviet Republic into the Unlon of Socialist Soviet Republics that has officially suppianted the name of R Durl this activity S.walin proved himself to be & ruthless execu- tioner, being responsible for thousands of cold-blooded murders in Georgia, It is certain that in Lenin's eyes he was invaluable so long as he was doing the b for which he was so well fitted, t when death neared this greatest of destructors made it clear in a letter to the Communist party that he did not desire to see lin become his successor. So when Lenin died the Communist party—or, better to say, the executive committee of the Communist party— had to choose its new Jyead. Trotsky considered himself as the natural can- didate for the vacant post. But the members of the execulive committee thought differently.' They were willing w submit themselves to Lenin, but per- | sonal rivalry and jealousy prevented them from naming Trotsky, because they knew that Trotsky had the inten- tion to fulfill his “right” in following in the footsteps of Lenin and becoming another uncrowned supreme ruler of Russla. Therefore, not wanting to be subject to Trotsky’s autocracy, which they deemed inevitable if Trolsky were | to fill Lenin's place, they reached a compromise, which consisted in leaving Lenin's place vacant, but naming Stalin general secrelary of the Com- munist party. They thought that like this they would be safe in remaining the virtual rulers of Russia, because Stalin—their creation—would be their servant in pursuing their policy. The autnors of this compromise were Zino- viev and Kamenev, supported later by Trotsky himself. Thus Stalin became the nominal leader of the Communist party against Lenin's’ will, but as a security valve as imagined by the then virtual leaders of Russia's fate. Had to Create Party. We know now what happened—that Stalin freed himself from the tutorship of that trio and sent Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev into exile. The shrewd | Georgian understood very soon that, left alone, he would become an easy prey to his experienced opponents. ‘Therefore, he had to create for himself a party in the party. But how would he do it? Trotsky opposed him, ac- cusing him of not following Lenin’s policy. ‘Trotsky used his brilllant speech and his biting pen in order to gain support of the people. Zinoviev and Kamenev, both experienced speak- ers, supported Trotsky. But Stalin could not use the same weapon. He was no orator. His writings were heavy and dry. But he occupled the post of general secretary of the Communist party, and he found out that he would always have the support of the party and of the Congress of Soviets if he could dominate (Continued on Eighth Page.) limitation by itself. On the other hand, he was chiefly instrumental in the ef- fecting of agreement to give publicity to war stocks. Lord Cecil spoke effectively as fol- for limitation of war stocks: ‘None could doubt the growing portance of material in land warfare, and it was not extravagant to say that armies depend more and more on mate- | rial and dess on personnel, it being quite possible that conditions of land warfare in the future would approxi- mate those on sea and in the alr. Hence the root of the matter was to | see whether or not land material could be limited, as all agreed it should be | done’ with regard to sea and air.” | But, as I observed, Lord Cecll, deem- |ing it unseasonable to press his | proposals, withdrew his resolution, ex- plaining that his main object for the present was accomplished—namely, to make clear certain views of the new British Labor government and to mani- fest to the world that the said govern- ment does not consider itself anywise bound by the attitude or assurances (not_embodied in treaty form) of its Conservative predecessor respecting dis- armament questions. The committee passed a resolution to be submitted to the Assembly, “cordially lo the view to limitation naval armaments, which agreement will enable the preparatory commission to obtain a general agreement on the methods to be adopted for the limi- tation and reduction of naval arma- ments,” and expressing the “confident hope that the preparatory commission shortly will be able to resume its work with the view of framing a preliminary draft convention for the reduction and limitaticn of land, naval and air arma- ments.” Apropos of the above, the semi-official Paris Temps suggests that, if Britain insists on limitation of trained army reserves, she should set an example by proposing similar limitation on war use of commercial fleets, and (by way of putting the proposed five-power naval conference. in its proper place) the journal .observes that “all the confer- ence can do is to elaborate a program for the eventual general disarmament conference.” ‘The following summary of the achieve- ments by or in connection with the late Assembly may be found useful. In the lack of full information by the dis- patches, I assume favorable action by the Assembly on several resolutions the emergence of which from committee was the furthest stage reported by the cables. 1. The speeches by the premiers of Great Britain and France and the for- eign minister of Germany (the most important man in the German gov- ernment), all three highly cordial to- ward practical efforts making for world pacification and for solidarity of Europe. 2, Not appointment of a committee with the mandate to amend articles XII and XV of the League covenant so as to bring them into fullest helpful accord with the Paris pact; report to be made to next year's Assembly. 3. Signature by representatives of 14 member states of the League of the “optional clause” of the World Court rotocol. The total of the signatories of lfi“" clause is ‘rfiaw‘ra, ;x'l:nt‘ma!n ‘;)( parliamentary ratifications to date, how- ever, is only 18, and it should be borire in mind that some of the acceptances (especially those of members of the British commonwealth of nations) are considerably weakened by reservations. Yet, when all's said, perhaps Mr. Hen- derson’s name of “the option clause Assembly” is not amiss. 4. Promise by the premiers of Prance, Greece and Finland and the foreign minister of Czechoslovakia that they will use every effort to persuade the legislatures of their countries to ratify the League's general act for compulsory arbitration of all international dis- putes, an act which to date hasweceived no_ratification. 5. Adoption by the Assembly of & resolution contemplating action by the proper League officials to result in the convoking by the Council for the com- ing January of a conference of repre- sentatives of Eurapean states the which should “frame the first collective agree- ment for developing and facilitating economic relations among those states by all prmhbl:.:helm. lly by rs and redu hindrances t6 trade”; the states partici- the economic | | | was the cing constructive” of the CIVILIZATION GOES BY FOLK! IN MOUNTAIN “HOLLOWS” Inhabitants’ Standard of Living Likened BY THOMAS R. HENRY. OW thin is that culture of auto- universal literacy ""rmcn generally is accepted as synonymous with civiliza- tion? Even in the Eastern United , which today probably is enjoying the highest standard of living in all history, 1t is possible to find pockets of popula- tion just off the broad asphalt highways to which this culture is almost as for- eign as to peasants in isolated Balkan hamlets today or to Western European peasants of two centuries ago. Specifically, such conditions exist in certain “hollows” of the Blue Ridge Mounatins within four hours of Wash- ington by automobile. How wide- spread they are could be determined only by an extensive investigation. ‘Thus far they largely have escaped public attention for the very reasons re- sponsible for them—isolation and lack of contact with the outside world. Romantic—in the Storles. Romance writers and moving picture producers have impressed on the public mind a glamorous picture of the Appa- lachian highlanders as sturdy, indepen- dent, loyal people, with an unquench- able thirst for learning. The beautiful mountain maiden in her homespun gown 1is a stock figure on the screen. Very likely this picture is not far from the truth as applied to some local- ities. Different “hollows” vary enor- mously in their degree of culture and of contacts with the outside world. Clus- ters of log cabins, with striking differ- ences in standards of living, are to be found within & few miles of each other. Some may approach ciose to the ideal- istic conception of a simple people in- carnating some of the rugged strength and beauty of the towering crags, sil- very waterfalls and streams dancing through the everlasting twilight of | pey arching hemlocks and uncontaminated by the vices of great cities and the nervous restlessness which has come with advancing civilization. But, on_the other hand, there are hollows which seem to represent ex- tremes of poverty, physical deteriora- tion and miserable standards of living, and which have largely lost their con tacta with the world outside. The stream of history has circled around these hollows without touching them. ‘They have slipped back instead of for- ward, with the result that it is possible to study among them human institu- tions and menfal processes in the mak- ing. A tramp into one of these “hol- lows” is like & trip in H. G. Wells’ “Time Machine” into a half-forgotten past when the human mind still was groping in an effort to adjust itself to the simpler elements of its envirenment. Evolution of Family Name. A simple example is the inciplent evolution of the family name. Genera- tions of interbreeding have brought about & situation where the population of an entire hollow will have & common family name, which consequently loses its significance in differentiating indl- viduals. Thus another device must be found for differentiating two persons, especially children, with the same first name. This is accomplished by coupling it with the name of the father or mother, such as Jim's Pete. And so we have a situation similar to that in which many of the common family names of today originated. If the con- dition was widespread, an entirely new deal in names might be forthcoming. The language itself contains many curious survivals of pre-Elizabethan English. due to lack of contact with the social forces, altering idioms and speech forms in the outside world. The vari- ous streams of colloquialism which have emptied into the main body of English have mnot flown over the mountain barriers, ‘There_ appears to have been little sur- vival of primitive arts and crafts, al- though here again it is dangerous to generalize. There are exceptions, among them basket making from oaken strips, which brings some small income from Summer visitors. Chureh nissions in other hollows have brought about re- vivals of the crafts. Folk lore and folk songs, if they exist, are hidden from the casual observer—yet, generally speaking, these are not a secretive peopl llen! and suspicious in the presen of ;tnl{gfl's. They are hospitable and rank. 2 5,000 Dwell in Park Area. It is estimated that approximstely 5,000 mountaineers dwell in the Virginia and West Virginia areas which are to be included in the Shenandoah National Park, planned as a great mountain playground for the people of the Eastern States. When the park lIs taken over by the Government it will be necessary to move them outside this area. where the roots of their lives are planted. pating in the conference having previ- ously pledged themselves to make no increase in their protective duties over three years and not to “impose new protective duties or create new im- pediments to trade” over the same riod. It is seen how the above resolution meshes in with the idea of an economic United States of Europe and how reali- zation of its proposals might furnish a gauge of the practicability of the latter. Of the development “on the side,” dur- ing the period of the Assembly’s session, of Briand's project of a European as- sociation, chiefly if not entirely eco- nomic, I have discussed sufficlently in a_ previous issue. It is s matter of which we are destined to hear much in the coming year. 6. The Assembly adopted a resolution calling for the convoking by the Council of another international economic con- ference. (Of this I am not so sure). 7. The Assembly voted acceptance of the proposed amendment to the World Court statue, which embodies the res- ervations attached to our Senate’s reso- lution of adhesion to the statu 8. The Assembly appointed a com- mittee to frame a convention proposing financial aid by member states of the League to a member state which should be a victim of aggression; report to be made to next year's Assembly. 9. Not the less certainly for lack of precise action, the Assembly promoted the cause of genuine disarmament and smoothed the path for the so-long de- layed disarmament commission. The disarmament committee of the Assembly wisely forbore to submit instructions for the preparatory disarmament com- mission, or rather, Lord Cecll wisely withdrew his resolution proposing in- structions to that committee, including the injunction to consider, in the framing of a draft disarmament con- vention, the question of trained land reserves and that of war (land) stocks. He had vined his main point by mak- ing it quite clear that the British Labor government considers itself unshackled in respect of disarmament questions by the declared policies-of its Conservative predecessor. This manifesto was one of the most important developments of the Assembly sessions and I repeat that there is nothing to prevent raising the questions of trained land reserves and war stocks in the preparatory disarma- ment commission or the .disarmament conference. They will be raised, “with a wanion.” 10. In his speech at the opening of the Assembly Mr. MacDonald declared that his government was “ready to take great risks for peace.” I think it may properly be said that the Assembly in general showed a responsive iness, and Ht;nl the claim t:nmeall-u Aaa sem| “‘mos! luctive an 10 Assemblies is well founded. to Balkan Peasants or European Serfs of 200 Years Ago. by the wide range of living conditions to which different hollows are accustomed. Some, espe- cially those which have had the benefit a | ©f church missions, with their earnest and self-sacrificing directors, will be able to adjust themselves easily to life in the valleys. The behavior of others with whom lack of contacts is out- standing is problematical. Thrown into & new, faster and more complex en- vironment without preparation, they are likely to grope about blindly in their efforts to make the necessary adjust- ments, ‘The problem, according to competent observers, cannot be considered strictly one of illiteracy. The people of those hollows which have had neither mis- sion nor public schools are, of course, illiterate, and at the level of culture at which they exist they have little need for literacy. But recent intelligence tests revealed what appears 1o be & curious mental condition which extends under the surface of literacy. The minds are there, but msieep. Despite whatever degenerative effects may have resulted from generations of cross- breeding, the children show & good capacity to learn once the mentality has been awakened. Range of Activity Is Limited. But the range of mental activity has been 50 limited that the first impression is likely to be that of defective intelli- gence. There is, for example, among many of these children only an obscure orfentation of the self in time. The sense of distance appears vague. The sense of time extends only & short way from the immediate pres- ent. Children did rather poorly when asked the year and month, but most knew the day of the week. An outstanding characteristic was the ignorance of events in the outside world. Famous names, such as Washington and Lincoln, meant nothing to the children. They did not even designate human ings. This condition would not ob- taln with many of the adults who have had better contacts. For the children the “hollow” has been the world—at least until the opening of & tiny log school this Summer, when wonders were accomplished in a few weeks, for lhemrlu of learning capacity is quite rapid. With many of the children the prob- lem of literacy extends downward to training the senses to a degree which comes without conscious effort in more stimulating environments. A Virginia county weekly, comment- ing om a recent series of articles de- scrib! the condition of some of these children, made the point that they had not been denied education, since there were schoolhouses within a few miles where they would be welcomed. ‘This is true. There also is a fine rural prosperity within a few miles in which the adults might make a place for themselves. Some of the richest agricultural counties in_ the United States are “just over the hill” within a few hours’ walk. Lack Home Environment. A few years ago, certainly before the coming of consolidated rural schools lndllchaol bmuu , children in various rural communities were trudging every day, through the slush of g}mfu -nré through blinding Winter snowstorms such as unheard of in this area, to the village schools over longer distances than these children would have to go. But such children had the stigulating home en- vironment which drote them on to en- dure physical hardships for an educa- tion. They lived on a certain level of culture of which literacy was an essen- tial part. Here In the mountains it is different. Before the children will trudge miles to school over the narrow Blue Ridge foot trails the levei of community cul- ture must be raised to provide the es- sential stimulus. For yearning for lit- eracy and the better things of life sel- dom exists except as part of a culture pattern. If the culture pattern were 80 changed as to provide the necessary stimulus to bring the children to the schools a few miles distant, the trans- formation would involve other changes which would bring up-to-date schools close at hand, comfortable and roomy houses, large tracts of tilled mountain- side and industrious living. It would be as well to say that an infant starved to death in a house where the pantry shelves were loaded with provisions from which it could have prepared a meal for itself, and that therefore nobody was to blame. ‘The mountain children—at least those |in the poorest hollows—require educa- tion in the nursery-bottle stage and not the cook-stove stage. It must be brought to them in their hill cradles. ‘The untrained minds are not likely to climb out of the cradles to go after it. No Stimulating Factors. Very likely Abraham Lincoln walked 10 miles over the lonely priairie to bor- Tow a book, but these mountain chil- dren are not Abraham Lincolns. Even if one of them had the potential men- tality of Lincoln, there is almost com- plete lack of the stimulating factors which transformed that potentiality into actuality. It also has been pointed out that various church denominations have pro- vided schools and accomplished such excellent results that the culture leve! of whole communities has been changed That also is true. Probably it would be impossible to praise too highly the church schools. But this is not a for- eign mission field. It is a part of the United States in 1929, where education is presumed generally to be dispensed in a different manner. Totalization Bill 0. K.d By Irish Parliament The Irish Free State Parllament has passed a totalizator bill, and under it tre finance minister can grant licenses to persons willing to work this system of betting, out of which the state ex- pects to derive a substantial revenue. Nevertheless most of Ireland's betting, which is widespread, will continue to be done in the old way in the betting offices of the towns and villages. There is & government tax on every bet. The extent to which betting has invaded the poorest classes is evident in the recommendation of a _governmental commission of inquiry, fixing a mini- mum wager of 25 cents. Womer in shawls, and often with babes in arms, assemble in the betting offices to in- vest their coppers and wait for the re- sults of each race over the tape. Every office is thus a sort of miniature betting ring, and bets are paid out after each race. The commission recommends that no wager should be paid on the same day as it is won. The total wagers laid in & year are estimated to be over $20,000,000. Galway Still Enforces Mixed Bathing Rules In many Irish seaside places mxea bathing is countenanced, and especially in the neighborhood of Dublin it is the rule rathez Zen the exception, but in Galway the regulations’ strictly prevent it—and Galway is a great bathing resort. The Galway County Council was be- sought to relax the rule in order to satisfy members of families wishing to | bathe together, but the attempt !&ed. the council explaining that such a pro- posal was too advanced for Galwag, §