Evening Star Newspaper, January 26, 1930, Page 31

“ENGLISH TON GUE SPOKEN BY NEARLY 200,000,000 May Become Language of Majority of Mankind in Next Century If Pace Is Maintained. [ BY EMIL LENGYEL. HUNDRED years ago 20,000,000 people spoke English, and it oc- cupied the fifth place among the lages. Today nearly 200,000, people speak Eng- lish and it occupies the first place. At the mt?t rate of growth Eng- lish may become the native tongue of the m: ity of mankind in about a hiindred years, and even now one of the most _important export articles of both the United States and Great Britain is their uage. If the Federal Government had a statistical department to measure such an exchange, it would find that incom- parably more English words are export- _ed from the United States to foreign countries than words of foreign origin are imported. It seems as if the lan- guage were paying back the capital and interest on its indebtedness to nearly every civilized nation. The Tower of Babel is becoming Americanized. ‘This question has again been brought to the fore through the controversy centering around American talkies. A newspaper dispatch from Brazil says that alarmed the rapidly growing use of the language since the introduction of talking films in local theaters, a member of the Sao Paolo city council introduced a measure pro- viding a fine of $60 for each exhibition of talking movies in any foreign lan- Signor Mussolini_h: lied strong. as applied strong- arm methods to keep talkies out of Italy. and certain Mexican States have Pproved themselves just as intransigeant. English-language talkies have caused Prance much concern in the Near East where French, up to a short time ago, had a monopoly among the educated natives. It is now the American ac- cent which monopolizes the screen in Constantinople and Cairo. Germany Also Anxious. ‘The Germans, too, are anxious to retain the supremacy of their language along their eastern boundaries where English-language talkies enjoy great popularity. When the French and Ger- mans embark on an ambitious pro- gram of native talkie production they aim at much more than merely saving an Stry. American talkies are being played in Paris as well as Bucharest, Buenos Internationally-minded people hailed them as a boom to making the world kindred in thought and its ex- ‘The more imaginative of them have age when the Turk will talk in English to his Greek neighbor and when there will be no more con- flicts in the Balkans. They suggest pression not limited by national fron- ‘This race of the languages to assert themselves in their sphere of influence has placed the small countries in a par- ticularly advantageous position. find themselves wooed by the great . ‘They cannot, of course, afford to produce talkies in their native idioms, for which the mar- ket would be extremely limited. Hence they have to fall back on the alternative .of selecting among foreign ‘produc in the Engl French, Russian lan- generations grow up with some knowl- edge of an international language? Grows by Leaps and Bounds. quoted at the outset indi- ably more converts than any other language. It was due to its tre- mendous driving power that it grew by during the last cen- trial renaissance study the rules of “lthe English grammar. with Great Britain's tradl, d sity of taking nol In certain fields of knowledg> ‘was fast developing into an in- ternational language. Moreover, it be- came the language of the ses In the Par East English is the “lingua franca,” the means of communication among the different nations. Although Japanese and Chinese are racially very much alike, they speak to one another in English Even Chinese who speak different dialects find it more conven- lent to carry on their conversation in English. After the World War the rapid_rise of the United States afforded the rhain attraction to foreign nations to learn English. Millions consider the English language the key to the riches of America, the treasure house of the world. Tens of thousands of prospe tive immigrants find vicarious consola - tion in the study of English when they Tealize that American immigration laws and their financial condition make it impossible for them to come to this country. Want to Trade With U. S. Nearly all the world wants to do business with the United States, and there is no better way of catching the elusive dollar than talking to it in its own tongue. balance of its langusge by giving thr other countries a large number of sport tarms. Pinally, Americanization is now a political doctrine, almost a religion, and there is a widespread tendency to g0 to the fountain head of all knowl- edge, the great human documents of America. Every time America adds a new name to her roll of honor the foreign stu- dents of English increase. ‘When Charles Lindbergh dropped out of heaven at Le Bourget airfield, Paris found itself short of English teachers. ‘The day following his arrival the larg- est Parisian daily announced that the members of its staff would receive thorough instruction in English. It would be awkward, the French must have thought, that reporters should be unable to interview the heavenly vis- Germany has made the most rapid advance in the study of English among all the nations. Before the war French ‘was the most important foreign lan- w in the Reich, but it has now relegated to third place, being by English and Spanish. In “Realschule.” a non-classical sec- school, it is a compulsory sub- il 3 i g § ym: ium, a classical sec- school, it is an elective subject— ch and ity of hrt'll.l.ll to He h\'l’gh:he - acco err wanger, author, nearly four times lish language books are Reich as Prench books. iigigfii g 5 2§ German Capital. cafes, and especiall; few literary salons of Berlin, ce the stranger that English of the German capital. Muuud.grmm often use it for gen- eral conversation, and it is the favorite method of parents to keep secrets from ‘Eg’ 13 ;-é! § g g In Germany, n;ne thn‘:n m'heu else, & Dellef exists S mm, English words. m"l.'o one’s German with them, even one has no command of the lan- fune. is fashionable and distinguished. t 15 not always easy to detect thal words pronounced as “yotz,” “vekend’ and “fotball” mean “jazz,” “week end' and “football.” “Last, but not least,” is one of the most frequently used and abused phrases in Germany, and one often hears such curiosities as *folgen Sie die line of least resistance.” Russia is not much behind Germany in her eagerness to capture the spirit of America through her language. Be- fore the war English stood in third place. lollowing behind German and French as the language of the intelli- gentsia. German still leads, due ‘» the fact that there ars large G n- speaking settlements along the Vol comprised in an autonomous republic, but French has been replaced by Eng- lish. There are all kinds of language schools in Russia in which, the com- missariat of instruction estimates, the enrollmént of students in English classes is more than double those in French classes. ‘The Russians are experimenting and are said to have achieved good results with a new method of English for for- eigners, the main feature of which is a so-called probationary period, when the students are required to read Eng- lish text without an attempt at under- standing it. Hungary was the first country to rec- ognize the “American” language in an unofficial way. Magyars place a pre- mium on nasal accent, which they take for unadulterated Yankee language. ‘This is all the more remarkable becausc before the war the Oxford accent was a la mode. There is a surprisingly large number of English classes in what are known as labor colleges which are in reality popular extension courses. Marsaryk Favors English. Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia, has gone one better than the large cities of the neighboring countries in that it has both a “gymnasium” and a college in which English is the language of instruction. Thomas G. Marsaryk, President of the republic and an_ad- mirer of America, is said to favor Eng- lish as a sort of superlanguage to facili- tate intercourse among the nationalities of his country. Although German is still spoken by most Czechs as their secondary language, English has lately become its competitor. 3 South America is no longer an an- nex of France so far as language is concerned. Business men now expect their foreign correspondents to write to them in Spanish or Portuguese, as the case may be. Out of perhaps a growing sense of solidarity or due to their pride in their northern neighbors the South Americans have adopted English as their second choice. Talkies and the radio play an im- portant part in making the southern part of this continent more proficient in English. The pan-American ideals have thus received a powerful impetus. Often American firms write to their South American customers in Spanish and the South Americans reply in English. In at least one country the sugge- tion was seriously considered to adopt English as _the official language. The country is Finland, in-which both Fin- nish and Swedish have official stand- ing. It was a Finnish-speaking member of Parliament who proposed that Swed- ish should be replaced by English. The project was tabled for the time being Sweaish-speaking population Tesets the 5 n resen proposal, which Tt considers an attempt on the privileges of its native tongue. It is not in the least surprising that New Guinea should have adopted pidg- in English as its official language. It is spoken by millions and is extremely popular in the islands and seaports of the Pacific Ocean. Its main advantage is its utmost grammatical simplicity, which enables even the most primi. tive native to acquire it in no time. A prominent publicist of the Far East went so far the other day as o suggest that this brand of corrupted English. with all its Portuguese, Malay and Chinese words, has the best chance of becoming the universal language of the future. A language which trans- forms “business” into “pidgin,” one ob- server said, has the great adwantage of ing untrammeled by linguistic tra- Compulsery Subject. THE , SUNDAY BY THE REV. JAMES H. RYAN, President of Catholic University. HE waning days of 1929 have been made notable by the resig- nation of Peter Cardinal Gas- | parri from the position of sec- retary of state to his holiness Pius XI. At the very height of a bril- | liant career and at the hour of greatesi | triumph for his policies he has stepped | down of his own volition from a place | of eminence to make way for a younger and more vigorous man. | The method of his going is as char- | acteristic of this great churchman aud | statesman as anything he has done | during a half century of devotion to the interests of the Holy See. Few men, even great men, are wise enough to know when to resign. That Gas- parri has chosen this particular mo- ment to go into voluntary retirement is proof not only of deep wisdom but of a humility which we do not often en- counter among those whose lives are spent directing the affairs of others. There have been notable secretarics of state during the last century. The names of Consalvi, Pacca and Ram- polla come immediately to mind in any review of the occupants of this exalted office. Gasparri takes his place along- side these great figures of the past. We cannot predict, of course, what the final verdict of history will be. But to us who have lived in his time and have followed his work it seems certain that the name of Gasparri must be ranked at the very head of the list of great cardinal secretaries of state. Relies on Inherent Justice, Gasparrl is not a mere diplomat in the generally accepted meaning of that term. Rather he is a statesman who, convinced of the logic of his views, re- lies on their inherent justice and sound- ness to gain acceptance for them. He is plain, frank and outspoken in con- versation; everybody knows where he stands on public questions. He has, moreover, the courage of his convic- tions and is_ready to defend them against attacks, no matter from what quarter they proceed. No one has ever questioned his loyalty to the Holy See nor his devotion to the cause of thc church. Again and again during the last 15 years he has been attacked, abused and even reviled. For two years certain Italian news- papers carried on a scurrilous campaign against the cardinal, misrepresenting his position on public questions, accus- ing him of every type of perfidy and dishonesty, even going to the extreme of questioning some of the acts of his private life. Il Tevere, a violently pro- Fascist paper, led in these attacks. On one occasion it promised in a subse- quent edition startling revelations that “would ruin the secretary of state.” However, at this point the authorities stepped in, demanded to see the proof of the forthcoming charges, and after consideration of the so-called evidence, Mussolini himself forced the editor to state publicly that his trumped-up charges were a tissue of lles. ‘Withstood Terrific Attack. During the trying days preceding and following the condemnation of the Ac- tion Francaise, Gasparri was treated :o a newspaper attack the like of which few modern statesmen, not excepting President Wilsony have had to endure. Mauraus and Daudet, leaders of the Action Francaise, flew into a journal- istic rage at the condemnation of French royalism, and laid the whole re- sponsibility for the Pope's action at the doorstep of Gasparri, Gasparri was painted . daily in vigorous diatripes by Daudet as the enemy of France, as the protector of Germany, as the destroyer of united Catholic action in France— nor did this violent writer mince words STAR, WASHINGTON, CARDINAL In spite of all these attacks, Gasparri has never swerved an inch from his stated policies. And the world has come to look upon Cardinal Gasparri as a statesman whose viewpoints are large and whose word can trusted once he ‘has given it. Nobody less than a great man could have guided the papacy through the terrible days of the ‘war, through the reconstruction period, into the new era of world thought, without once jeopardizing the interests of the church. Pifty years ago on every side Euro- pean rals freely predicted the early dissolution of the church. Dark days were ahead for her. In the last decade, due principally to the efforts of Gas- parri, the Catholic Church has emerged from the enveloping darkness into a mflod to which all signs point as most portant for her prestige and growth. Peace Ideal Likened to Golden Thread. Like a golden thread there runs through the career of Cardinal Gas- {:arrl the idea of peace and reconcil lon. Antipathies, personal or national: recriminations, injustices have found in him a sworn enemy. In Rome itself and among_ecclesiastics of high posi- tion there has been manifested again and again opposition to his policies. Given a just cause and good will, Gas- parri has always felt that men and na- tions could be brought to see and to in questioning the integrity and hon- esty of Gasparri’s advice to the gope. BY HENRY B. BUNN, HE following is a brief summary of the most important news of the world for the seven days ended -January 25: * ok % Priends of the idea of the United States of Europe have the greatest confidence in English ultimately be- coming the super-language of the world. It is an important artitcle in the program of the Pan-Europeans to have English taught in the high schools of all nations as a compulsory subject, so’ that the younger generation should understand one another in spite of the difference in their native tongues. Count Coudenhove-Kalergi, founder of the movement, advocates the intro- duction of English even in the primary schools, Since M. Briand, former prime minister of France, has definitely aligned himself with the movement, it is no longer classed with the idle dreams of Utopians. The agitation is taking root and there is hope that every European country will fall in line, making English an important and organic part of their school instruc- tion. ‘There are, of course, those who say that what the world needs is an arti- ficlal language in general use. The pan-Europeans and the other advo- cates of English, on the other hand, point to the high rate of mortality among artificial Janguages. Where is Volapuk, they ask, which once gave rise to such sanguine hopes? Where are Solresol and Lingualumina, recog- nized as masterly products of the hu- man brain, but devoid of life? It is true that Esperanto and Ido are still flourishing, have their literatures and thousands of ardent supporters, but are they not greatly handicapped in face of the competition of English? Of what avail are their thousands against the hundreds of mililons of those who speak, or at least under- stand, English? Living languages have a vitality which no artificial language, no matter how perfectit is, seems to vossess. Study of “Pole of Wind” Conducted in Greenland Prof. L. R. Schneider of the Univer- sity of Michigan is at the Geophysic Institute at Bergen, analyzing the me- teorologic observations made during the American _sclentific expedition to Greenland last year and in 1927, under the leadership of Prof. Hobbs. Prof. Schneider with three assistants settled on Mount Everet for, 14 months, devel- oping observations by Dr. Hobbs in 1927. The two professors’ theory is that just as there are a magnetic north p:rh and ‘l ml&eflc mutl;“pou,l Roth diverging from geographic poles, so there are a “pole of wind” in the north and one in the south. Their sur- veys Wr;d to establish that the north where Norway’s foremost authority on meteorol Prof. Bjerkness, without having local conditions on Greenland, holds to the same theory. 1t is believed that a thorough knowledge of weather conditions in the Arctic and Antarctic will permit forecasting with much more accuracy than hitherto. m are lroog' for ';x!:hlsgnudzzlum.; co-operation erection o itions next Summer as North Pole-as possible. THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS.—The Duke of Leeds has sold (for £250,000) his Yorkshire estate of 15,000 acres, has disposed of other considerable estates and his London mansion,- and, in order to live econom- ically, has retired to Italy. Lord Bar- nard has sold (for £200,000) his estate of 7,000 acres in Shropshire. The Duke of Richmond has sold off his pictures and books. Auctioneers, people of that ilk, acquire the beautifully kept estates, the ancient mansions, the treasures of art and literature accumulated through generations. Their .lordships cannot pay the taxes. “The old order passeth.” With the accession of Lords Ponson- by and Marley, newly created peers, the strength of the Labor party in the | House of Lords, including the lord chancellor, is 16. Mr. Henderson, the foreign secretary, informed the House of Commons on January 22 that the government had protested to the Russian government against “the renewal of Communist propaganda in England,” which took the form of an article in the new Com- munist paper, Daily Worker, accusing the British Labor government of “anti- Soviet intrigues, colonial brutalities and preparation for another imperialist war.” “I pointed out to the Soviet Am- bassador,” said Mr. Henderson, “tl the message from the Third Interna. tional in the Daily Worker was calcu- lated to imperil relations between the two countries. At present it is not pro- posed to take further action in this matter.” ‘The ninth imperial conference will meet in London before long, and the Communist questions will confront it. “Imperial” is no longer the correct designation. The coming conference will be the first conference of repre- sentatives of the British commonwealth of nations, which comprises the Brit- ish Empire (Great Britain with her dependencies) and the dominions. The dominions are of equal status with each other and with Great Britain in rela- tion to the British crown. It is to be observed that the relations of India, the most populous of her dependencies, to Great Britain are, both politically and economically, anomalous. The area of the commonwealth is about 12,000,000 square miles, as against 52,500,000 for the entire planet; its population about 445,000,000, as against 1.880,000,000 for the entire planet. The oldest of the “whelps of the lion” is Newfoundland, which dates from 1583. Of the population of the common- wealth only about 66,500,000 are classed as whites, though, of course, there is a very large element of Caucasian blood in the population of India. By reason of the 70,000,000 Mohammedans in India, King Can the anomalous constitution of the commonwealth be made to work? The world will watch with intense in- | terest the manner of dealing of the “imperial conference” with the stupen- dous economic and political problems confronting it. Perhaps the most deli- cate of the questions is t! the future status of of old the "fuprme court of justice” of the em- pire. ‘The dominions include 59 per cent of the area of the British common- wealth of nations, but contain only 6 per cent of its population. Four-fifths of its population is in India. embrace the truth. It has been no easy task to war day by day upon prejudice FRANCE.—France will celebrate this year the one hundreth anniversary to her acquisition of Algeria. The arca of Algeria, exclusive of its shar~ of the Sahara, is about 222,000 square miles, its population about six millions. Algiers, the chief city, has & population of about 210,000, ~Among Algerian towns redolent of historical associations and romance may be mentioned Oran Constantine, Bone and Tlemcen. Next year there is w be a magnifi- cent ceremonial exhibition at Paris, more or less by way of advertising the colonfal empire. Great plans are afoot looking to economic development of that empire. The coloaies offer great possibilities in the way of cotton, rub- ber, etc., culture and minersl output. France's imports from her colonies in 1929 amounted to 14 per cen® of all her imports in that year; her exports to her colonies in 1929 amounted to 18 per cent of all her exports in. that year. The Tardleu government is said to cherish a plan for subsidizing the merchant marine with a view to hav- ing the entire trade between France and her colonies handled by French bottoms. It is said that the trans- Saharan railway project sensibly ap- proaches the stage of pratinqu. The D. C., JANUARY 26, GASPARRIL and i1l will begotten of ignorance and emotional instability. is has been particularly true in the large fleld of inteinational relations, where national jealousies and suspicions of one an- other have worked such havoc with the plans of the peacemakers and brot misery and ruin to so many peoples. Gasparri has always seen clearly in these troublesome situations. To cite & concrete example, he re- sisted the movement to force Holland to give up the person of the ex-! er to his enemies, and he did this not be- cause he individually was interested in the fate of the German Emperor, but because he did not see how justice could be meted out to a man whose accusers at the same time were to act as his Jjudges. He has recognized openly the na- tional aspirations of the various peopies with whom he has had to treat—and that means practically the whole world. He has not committed himself to the defense of worn-out theories of govern- ment, but has gladly accepted the newer currents of political thought and has negotiated with their leaders in the in- terests of national peace and interna- tional good will. It would have been an easy matter, for example, for a secretary of state ‘o have taken an intransigent attitude toward Fascismo and to have refused to treat with the Piscisti on any terms. The world would probably have applauded —and vociferously — such a population of the PFrench colonies is nearly 60,000,000. ‘They furnished France with 2,365,000 fighting men n the war. Naval Conference, take -no- tice: French revenues in 1929 exceeded budget estimates by G.M.W0,00' francs. * X ok ok { SPAIN.—On January 22 students of three colleges in Madrid indulged in wild demonstrations against the gov- ernment, with waving of the red flag and shouts of “death to the King hurrahs for the republic.” They were, however, cowed by several hundred mounted members of the so admirable civil guard. Dictator Primo de Rivera issued a statement to the effect that he didn’t really know what it was all about and that no professors had been, as the students were charging, discharged for holding “views prejudicial to the government.” No doubt, as in the stu- dent outbreaks of several months ago, the students were the tools of agitators. On January 21 Jose Sotelo, yielding to widespread criticism the justice of which is open to question, resigned as|gate, finance minister. He is succeeded by the Count de Los Andes, transferred from the ministry of economy. Dic- tator' Primo de Rivera was most re- New Standards BY BRIUCE BARTON bi | have been a member of such and such a church for 18 years, and not one man or woman in that whole ion took a lette He proceeded with a harsh criticism of the church and of folks in general, calling them sel and callou thized with hi conclusions race were too swi People often because they d ¢ is branded is really diffidenc For years | hesitated to write or speak to any one who had suff t of a friend. “How empty and ,futile my words will sound,” | thought. “What an impertinence it for me, who am well and blessed with an unbroken household, to intrude myself upon such grief! Surely it will only intensify the day death came to Suddenly the world pped from us. All around were people going about their work and play as usual, laugh hoping, full of health. were huddled together, wounded and silent and terribly alone. The first night was agony. But telephone. Flowers came in gre The wall around us was brok down by friendly hands. were no longer alone. With what eagerness we pored over every lotter! What a relief it. was to answer the pho or the front door bell and to have a chance to talk. And all through the years | had thought that words were futile—that a message might be an intrusion! Great chang America, and ciety is in the making. As long he continent was an untamed wilderness there was no time for the niceties of life. Only the strongest hunter or the most vigorous tree-chopper w. honore Then came the period of in- creasing population and mount- ing wants and the feverish effort to produce. Captains of industry were worshiped and millionaires were our heroes Now popul n begins to be mo rly stationary. Enough of everything can be produced by fewer hours of work. Leisure has come suddenly, and we shall have new standards. Another generation will are going on in w order of so- not 1t will to those men and women who, inheriting larger leisure, develop the technique of thoughtfulness and practice kind- an art. ot wait for this order to make a beginning. Today would be a good time to start. (Copyright. 1930.) and | 1930—PART. TWO. [The Papal Peacemaker Retires Cardinal Gasparri Was the Outstanding Statesman of the Catholic Church. course of action. But Gasparri in this matter saw further than the end of his nose. ‘Though he openly condemned the ex- aggerations and crudities of Fascismo | and of its political politices, and thereby brought down on his head tons of news- | paper abuse, yet he was also man enough | to re ize the good qualities of the | movement and did not disdain to enter into negotiations with its leader for the | settlement of a problem which had di- vided Italy into warring camps for al- most 60 years. These negotiations were rendered ex- | traordinarily difficult by the cloud of misunderstandings and atmosphere of | fll-will raised by certain powerful ele- { ments of the Italian press who daily | harped on the coldness which Gasparri | showed toward the Fascist program. | They accused him of being responsible | for the calm and cautious attitude which | the Pope himself always maintained toward Fascismo, as well as being the real source of the criticisms which' the holy father publicly leveled against the | conduct and views of prominent Pascist officials. Blamed for Anti-Fascist Move. ‘The anti-Fascist movement led by Don Sturzo was credited to Gasparri as its real author and support.. Sturzo, it was claimed, was a mere stuffed shirt acting for his principal, who, when the Christian Democratic rty collapsed, did not fail to put fe every effort to is antagonists. Not once, however, did these charges ruffie the calm serenity of Gasparrl nor change his attitude toward the political politices of Fas- cismo. This remarkable man was born in the little village of Ussita 78 years ago. His hardy mountaineer ancestors and the free air of his native countryside have unquestionably contributed a great deal to the building up of a char- acter in which strength mixed with gentleness stand out as most prominent notes. The cardinal deeply appreciates what his native town has meant to him. To it he returns at every oppor- tunity; there he spends the month of his “villegiatura” walking through its old, narrow streets, horseback riding over the beautiful countryside. To the inhabitants of Ussita he is simply “Il nostro Cardinale.” To his generosity are due many civic improvements and especially the erection of the city hall, whose lobby proudly displays the many decorations which he has recefved from foreign governments during his long career. This exposition of grand crosses and collars which have been conferred upon him gives in_epitome the story of a truly remarkable political life and is an object lesson and incentive to the vil- lage youth of how great men are possible even in this the twentieth century. To rdinal about Ussita is to responsive chord. His face lights up at the word and he im- mediately proceeds to d for his visi- tor a picture of its beauties, to finish with the hope that he would like to be on his way at that very moment to pav it a visit. - - Gasparri recelved his earfy education at the small seminary of Nepi and com- pleted it at the Roman seminary. ordination he became secretary to the great jurist, Cardinal Mertel, & man no less remarkable for his knowledge of the law than for the fact that, though only a cleric, he had been made a car- dinal. Mertel was the last deacon to receive such an honor. Gasparri taught in Rome for about four years and then accepted a call to the chair of canon law at the Institut Catholique of Paris. . Here .he remained 18 years, teaching and writing. From his came three remarkable treatises, Ot ines and. ““De the latter work justly (Continued on Eighth Page.) The Story the Week Has Told luctant to accept Senor Sotelo’s resig- nation, but was constrained to yield to pressure from big business. People to be affected by a ‘constitu- tion in' the making are apt to be im- patient for its completion. So in the resent case of Spain, But it should Ee remembered that when, in October, 1927, the National Assembly was cre- ated to frame a new constitution for | Spain, it was announced that comple- tion of its labors could scarcely be ex- pected before July, 1930. Apparently the estimate was correct, the indica- tion being that the Assembly will com- plete its task about July next. * K ok X ‘THE HAGUE.—The conclusion of the conference at The Hague was delayed for several days by the dispute between Hungary on the one part and the little entente states on the other; a dispute which for the general reader may be dismissed with the observation that it was purposely pTlonled. Apparently Mr. Snowden, thé chief British dele- , using methods reminding one a little of the late Mr. Roosevelt, deserves much of the credit for the acceptance, at last, by the disputants of a sensible compromise. As I pointed out. last week, the German delegates, after mak- ing initial difficulties, swung into a reasonable attitude on all the issues in dispute between them and the dele- gates of the creditor countries. The Hague conference protocol was ed on January 20 by the delegates all the 18 governments directly represented in the conference. Provision is made for floating, shortly after the reguired ratifications, of the first series of rep- arations bonds based on the uncondi- tional payments under the Young plan. * x CHINA.—The famine situation in the Province of Shansi, cradle of Chi- nese civilization, is reported more acute than ever, partly owing to Winter weather of almost unprecedented severity, the thermometer reaching 32 degrees below zero. An observer who should be com- petent, formerly editor of an English newspaper of Peiping, returned from a six-week inspsction of the Wel River district, so famous in song and story, and reports conditions of almost inde- scribable misery. He estimates that 2,000,000 persons in that district have perished within eight months. For most of the survivors the diet is that of Nebuchednezzar, save that his maj- esty was not skimped of grass, whereas apparently they are. Shensi is in the bailiwick of Gen. Izyen Hsi-Shan and Yen has, it is said, earnestly endeavored to get millet to the starving wretches, but perhm in no other civilized dis- trict in world are the means of rt so inadequate, the roads so bad. Yet, 'tis said conditions are even worse in Kansu Province. * x % x LATIN AMERICA—Nineteen hun- dred and twenty-nine seems to have been a rather remarkable year in Latin America for construction of sundry sorts making for economic development. Highway _construction . progressed not- ably in Chile, Peru, Uruguay and Cuba; less notably but appreciably in Colom- bia, Venezuela, Mexico and Central America. Some, though a I"flood deal less, advance was made in way con- struction against formidable difficulties. Brazil and Argentina achieved great things in electric power generation, the former utilising the “white coal” of which she has such abundance. For Latin America as a whole the number of lllmnfl"gl;lhlel- X ithan the general population, Emuct its leader from the vengeance of | COLLEGE SPORTS PR e OVED NO HOLDBACK TO STUDY Athletes Have Better Life Expectancy. Coaches Held Important Teachers. ship apparently remains un- pm?'ed. although there |is some recent evidence that athletes do not reach fully the levels of intellectual attainment their inherent ability would make possible.” “As to health, college athletes are found to have better life expectancy but no better than the college population, which is in itself a selected group, and not so good as that of college men of high scholarship rank.” These are two of the findings of Prof. W. Carson Ryan, jr., of Swarthmore- College in the twenty-fourth bulletin of the Carnegie Foundation for the Ad- vancement of Teaching, which has re- cently been published under the title “The Literature of American School and College Athletics,” with a foreword by Henry 8. Pritchett, president of the Car- neeie Foundation. These findings follow the publication last Fall of Bulletin 23 of the Carnegie Foundation, “American College Athletics,” the contents of which received widespread publicity and llroused controversy in educational cir- cles. In the current bulletin of the foun- dation Prof. Ryan has considered and criticized more than 1,000 important books, articles and discussions of vari- ous aspects of American school and col- lege athletics and the findings included in the bulletin, which have been se- lected from a much larger mass of printed material gathered by the in- vestigator, are printed in 15 divisions, including such subtitles as athletics as education, the athletic controversy, scholarship and athletics, coaches and coaching, school athletics, athletics for rlr]l and women, sportsmanship, pro- [essionalism, separate games and sports. ‘Tendencies Summarized. Prom the more than 280 pages in the report, a total of nearly 200,000 words, Prof. Ryan has derived a series of gen- eral conclusions which he catalogues as “A Brief Summary of Tendencies” and which includes the following: “l. There is general acceptance of athletics as education. Once opposed, then tolerated, athletics have come to be regarded as an important part of the educational process at practically all levels, but especially for youth. “3.’ Existing opposition to athletics is directed for the most part not at ath- letics per se, but at w] are regarded as e and commercialized athletic system, es- pecially in intercollegiate foot ball. “‘3. Managed at t by undergrad- uates, athletics are found under various types of control—alumni, faculty, stu- dent and combinations of these. It is now that more and more the educational institution, school or col- lege, must exert itself to administer ath- HE claim that athletics seri- (13 I ously interfere with scholat- letics educationally, with adequate stu- dent responsibility, but freedom from outside non-educational control. “‘4. The claim that athletics seriously interfere with scholarship apparently remains unproved, although there is some recent evidence that athletes do not reach fully the levels of intellectual attainment their inherent ability would make possible. “5. As to health, college athletes are found to have better life expectancy than the general population, but no bet- ter than the coll population, which is itself a selectes wfimup. and ;\otm‘u‘; ege men of good as that of scholarship rank. ‘6. “More athletics rather than less athletics’ is generally accepted as onc of the remedies for athletic ills—that is, an ovronunity for all youth to par- ticipate in athletics through intramural and similar activities provided as a reg- ular part of the educational program.” Material Widely Scattered. “Material on school and college ath- letics is widely scattered,” lares Prof. Ryan in explaining the methods followed in collecting the material in- cluded in the bulletin. “Athletics touch 80 many flelds of health, education, general recreation, daily life and gen- eral interest that one who seeks to bring together the literature soon finds that there is no single source upon vorite material, especlally in Chile, Brazil and Peru. Great progress was made on the port works at Callao and Buenos Aires. Chile, Peru, Argentina and Mexico made considerable head- way with their magnificent irrigation projects, There was a good deal of factory construction in Argentina, some in Brazil, Chils, Peru and Mexico, and no small improvement of mining plants in Peru and Chile. An economic future to boggle the imagination is assured to Latin America, but the lusty infant has scarcely yet learned the use of its legs. ‘The trade between the United States and Latin American countries was ap- parently about 600 per cent greater in value in 1929 than in 1900. I say “apparently” because of the change in the purchasing power of money; but, with whatever qualifications, the increase was tremendous: The total value of that trade in 1920 was over two billion dollars; it constituted about 21 per cent of our total foreign trade, as against 14 per cent in 1900. * ok ok % UNITED STATES OF AMERICA — Perhaps we should have to go back to Herodes Atticus, who spent the greater part of his immense fortune in embellishing his native Athens, to find munificence in the grand style displayed with an attractiveness com- parable to that of Mr. Edward Stephen Harkness' benefactions. His latest gift (estimated at about fifteen million dol- lars) to his alma mater, Yale, to enable her to realize her quadrangle dormitory plans, follows other considerable gifts to , & gift of twelve millions to Harvs toward her unit housing sys- tem, ft (jointly with his mother) of six mill the New York Medical Center, etc., etc. Mr. Harkness' father, one of the original partners in Stand- ard OIl, lald the foundations of the family fortunes. A many do be saying that the most ltrmn's“‘wlnlcll development of last year in country was the strong indication of the possibility of substan- tial restoration in the South of the political atmosphere which obtained prior to the last presidential campaign: As shown by the return of Virginia to Democratic regularity, by the choice of A Democrat to succeed a Republican in a Kentucky by-election, by the bar- ring of Senator Heflin of Alabama from the next Democratic primary in that State, ete. tor The Navy' at.the Gepdvens e for the Navy at the ear plant, will be the largest helvkr-thxpn-llr craft in the world. Her length will be 785 feet and height 146 feet, and she will have a capacity for 6,500,000 cubic feet of helium gas, as against 2,500,000 for the Los Angeles and 3,700,000 for the Graf Zeppelin, e it NOTES.—On January 21 King George V opened the London Naval Arms Con- ference in the royal gallery of the Handing I ront of & moat v s of a great representing Nelson's death np;‘nhl! Portugal has a new cabinet of 10 members, all but two of whom are mili- tary or nhaval officers. A group of Prench and Dutch jewel- ers called into consultation by the Shah of Persia have estimated the Persian crown ls to be worth about $170,000,000. e 50,000,000, resulting from an exaggerated | le which to rely, that many of the mos* important contributions are in out-of- the-way places, and that an undue pro- grunn of the writing in this field ha en_done with little or no knowledg: of what has gone before. “There is, moreover, such an abun- dance of matter of one kind or anotl that selection is imperative. In present inquiry the effort has been to ascemble a list of books, articles anc pamphlets and other material on dif ferent aspects of school and collegr athletics from every conceivable source. voiding duplication, yet striving to give representation to a variety of points o: view. The slightly more than 1,000 titles in this ‘publication constitut: about half the books and articles reac in connection with the study and comparatively small fraction of th total consulted.” “One note runs through all the re- cent literature of school and colleg: athletics,” says Prof. Ryan under th' heading “Athletics as Education”—"thr acceptance of athletics as education. At first opposed, later tolerated as a mor or less necessary evil, athletics havc since been recognized as an importan auxiliary and even as an integral par. of the educational program. Indeed Prof. Inglis wrote a few years ago in his ‘Principles of Secondary Education that ‘there is evidence that the stone which the builders rejected may become the head of the corner.’ " . Writing on_“Scholarship and Ath letics,” Prof. Ryan says: “Are athletics and scholarship 4n- compatible? Do athletes tend to have poorer academic records than non- athletes? Does the existence of organ- ized intercollegiate and interscholastic competition interfere with the ‘intel- :fgu;;l‘ life_of an educational institu- n Intelligence Scores Compared. “Earlier attempts to answer thesc questions scientifically rather than emo- tionally were in terms of scholarship grades. In later studies intelligence scores of the students compared were taken into account, and still more re- cently efforts have been made in con- nection with the Carnegie Foundation athletic inquiry to devise a standard procedure whereby results among insti- tutions would be comparable. “On the whole, the studies of "all three types that have been made fail to bear out the oft-repeated- charge that athletics interfere seriously with schol- arship. A questionnaire study made in 1913 reported a large majority of uni- versity presidents as believing that ath- tes are naturally disinclined to study and that men in training show a falling off in scholarship, but much more typ- ical of the results of actual studies are the findings of the special committee of the Harvard faculty which, in 1921, in- vestigated the records of 1,600 upper- classmen, 348 of whom were partici- pants in one or more athletic The committee found that athletes ‘make a reasonably good showing, not up to the average, it is true, but high enough to refute the generalization that icipation in major athletics is in- compatible with the doing of satisfac- tory class room work. . “The Harvard study, made in 1928, covered the records of 806 regularls entering members of the class of '’ through 10 semesters, 301 of them being classed as athletes and 505 as non-athletes. Generally speaking, says the repbrt, ‘we find that sthletes stay Ionger in college, graduate more of their number, and do so in slightly less | time than do non-athletes® “'On the other hand, non-athletes tend to obtain slightly higher grades. Probation, number of courses per semes- ter and election of hard and easy courses show no difference between the groups.’ The investigators are careful to point out, however, that they have no way of kno such differ- ences as are found are or are caused by athletics, and they conclude: ‘No indictment or Jaudation of athietics can fairly be based on study.’ " Health Question Investigated. In dealing with the health of ath- letes Prof. Ryan finds that in modern times the tradition that crew men: or foot ball stars are likely to die early or feel in after life the effects of com- petition has been so persistent as to call forth numbers of investigations. “The earliest systematic attempt to determine the length of life of univer- sity athletes was that of John E. Mor« gan, who in his “University Oars' (1873) reported the results of a study of Ox- ford and Cambridge oarsmen between 1929 and 1869. Morgan's records that crew men on the whole lived lo) than other people; later writers, with actuarial tables before them, have in- terpreted his data to show a death rate ly 64 per cent as great as would normally be expected. “In 1904 George L. Meylan published a similarly favorable report on Harvard University oarsmen. Studies of Yale athletes shortly after by John M. Gaines and Arthur Hunter gave a figure of 4.16 deaths a thousand, which was lower than the rate for the mass of the popu- lation. On the other hand, a compari= son of 625 United States Naval Academy athletes of the classcs from 1892 to 1911 with 580 non-athletes from the same classes was less reassuring. ‘While the casualties in the two groups were not noticeably different in number (22 among the non-athletes and 21 among the athletes), it was found, according to Dr. C. F. Stokes, that ‘frcm those diseases to which athletics have a possible or probable causative relation, there has been but one death in the general group as compared with sixfor the athletic group.” Studies Made at Yale, “Recent studies of longevity have tended to take more carefully into ece count . the selective character of the college population in general and the athletic teams in particular and the effect of health supervision in keeping risks to a minimum. Anderson’s sudy of the longevity of Yale athletes (1016) thowed that ‘the Yale athlete does not die young.' The Y men he studied— members of crews, foot ball, base ball and track teams—apparently had a death rate not much over half of nor- mal expectancy. HE gives it as his opinion, however, that ‘athletes are being pushed too far.' “Greenway and Hiscock, in their study of the mortality of athletes and other Yale graduates (1926), found a death rate per 1,000 for the non-Y men of 3.72, for the ¥ men of 4.23 and for all graduates combined 3.76. Compari- son of these rates with those of the American men ultimate table shcws that the total number of deaths for non-Y meén was 83 uper cent of the ex- pected deaths, while the total for Y men was 93 per cent of the expected deaths. The low mortality rate, there~ i ufl ch-::fi'grlltlc lol college n gen: as a selected an not specifically of athletes.” T “Among the graduates there 9,640 deaths from the date of tion to the Summer of 1925. If th death rates of the medico actuarial ble had prevailed among th would have been 10,208 deaths. The actual deaths were thus 93.0 per cent of the expected. On the basis American men_ table, the number of deaths would have been 10,574. The ratio of actual to expected on this table was, therefore, 91.2 per cent. “The separate study of athletes also showed consistently better rates of mor=- tality than are ta be found insured lives, When