Evening Star Newspaper, May 18, 1930, Page 34

TRADE FOLLO THROUGHOUT THE WORLD Noted Banker Tells How International| Credits Serve Indusiry. and Commerce. (Continued From First Page.) | Fhds e o Bl modities and securities became clearly evident in our export and import to- tals. The volume of our forelgn com- merce reached A peak in October, 1920, the total value of exports and imports in that month being one of the largest reported since the inflated totals of 1020, Since then the trend has been | steadily downward, although the pres ent level compares not unfavorably with those of several years in the recent | past. It ix only in comparison with the very high totals of last year that ]tnw curtent figures appear extremely ow. Nevertheless, the current decline in our foreign trade is rightly regarded as & highly significant feature of the gen- eral business situation, both here and abroad. In order to find its causes we must go back beyond the stock msrket| panic of Iast Fall and bevond the reces- slon in domestic business activity that, began last Summer. If we examine the | trend of lm’l‘lg\ financing, we find that | last year the United States ceased to be & heavy exporter of long-ierm capital and became a heavy importer of short- term capital. This abrupt change in the international financial position of this country, which was due primarily to the absorption of foreign and domes- tie funds by our inflated stock market, was in turn the chisf cause of the de- eline tn our export trade. This interrelationship between foreign | finance and foreign .rade, which at first | glance appears mather complex, is realiy | 8 very simple matter of arithmetic. It is best understood by considering for- eign finance as merely one phase of foreign trade—a trade in securitics. When we invest capital abroad we im- port stocks and bonds, and are thereby enabled to export commodities. 1In ef- fect. foreign countries are importing our and are paying for them not in h but in securities—that is, in their promises to pay at some future time. Exports Must Equal Imports, Thus, if we consider foreign trade as & whole—as an exchange of goods, serv- ices, gold securities—it becomes self-evident that over a long period our exports must equal our imports. For a short time there may be a discrep- ancy, which is reflected in bankers' in- ternational balances. But the balances which bankers require abroad in order %0 carry on thelr business are compara- tively stable. If the actual balances tise greatly above the necessary level or decline much below it, the disparity be- tween the supnply of and demand for such balances produces fluctuations in exchange rates which result in gold shipments and otherwise discourage a eontinuance of the corditions that pro- duced the disparity. But to present a set of economic phe- nmomena in mathematical terms is one thing and to analyze the easual reia- sionships betweerl those terms is quite another. No one can disagree with 1he fundamental assertion that our balance of international payments must bal 5 because such an assertion is tant: unt 10 saying that we must pay for what we t and must be paid for what we give. t the difficult questions of cause and afiect remain. Every item in the bal- | d #a.we UL PAyments is more or less closel ralated to all the others, partly as cl\lBZ partly as effect. ¥ 8 epatture 1 perhars o chae per] e change international bank bl?:ne!!. linze s item furnishes a yardstick by which ers measure the flow of funds, and at the same time acts as & sort of gov- ernor or balance wheel which, through its ogl;ev':mo:;l t!or’elln] ;xehn;gda tes and of gold, most directly de- Rermines the flow of lnurnnlomlypny- ments. A credit or export item in the balance of payments is one that tenis o increase ths bank balances of Amer- foans abroad or to decrease the balances of foreigners in American banks, and a debit of import item is cne that tends %o reduce tne foreiga bank balances of to increase the deposits Americans or of foreigners in banks in this country. Balance Interesting. It is interesting to note how the bal- fim of l.numJonl.l payments of the ited States has been maintained dur- ing the last decade, in the face of the abnormal conditions that have prevailed Quring this period. Estimates of the Vvarious items in the balance have been made since 1922. During the seven- mr period from 1922 through 1928, the ited States had a surplus of mer- chandise exports amounting to $4,008,- 000.000; our loans to foreign countries ..mletfl ‘:&,385.000‘0'00! in interest: and cred lances of foreigners in our banks increased !80!.000,0‘0‘& These three net ifems, totaling $9,009 - 000,000, all represent amounts for which foreigners must have rendered an equi- Yalent to us, in one form or another. This equivaient was paid, first, by a sur- lue of “invisible” imports—that is, by e rendering of miscellanous services, #uch as the carriage of ocean freight, entertainment of our tourists abroad, ete., lmounun’ to $5,157,000,000; by the shipment of $249,000,000 in gold and ecurrency; and by the delivery of $3,603,000,000 in stocks and bonds. Thus 1t appears that there has been not a credit balance, but a considerable debit balance, in the exchange of goods and services and that the funds for invest- ment abroad have been supplied from the interest earned on previous foreign investments. But we must be careful not to read unwarranted implications into the fig- wres. It is no more accurate to say that our ability to expand our forelgn investments has been solely due to our farge receipts of interest from older fnvestments than to say that it is due | balance | of trade in commodities. Nor can the | %0 our so-called “favorable” casual relationship be regarded as op- erating entirely in the opposite direc- tion, as is done by those Who attribute our persistent surplus of merchandise exports over imports to the increase in our foreign investments. It is un- doubtedly true that “trade follows the dolla: that is, that foreign invest- snents stimulate export trade; and also that an export trade balance facilitates she further expansion of loans abroad. Factors Outside Balance. But both of these conditions are ulti- mately due to factors that lie quite out- #ide the balance of payments—in the resent instance, to the rapidly increas- g productivity of American industry and the need of American capital in foreign countries. sulted in the destruction of property and the disorganization of industry and finance in Europe. During the greater part of the last decade the principal task has been that of rehabilitation. Fortunately, America has been in a ition to aid in performing this work shipping huge quantities of commod- es overseas and by lending to Europe the money with which to pay for them. dt is idle to speculate as to whether we pvere able to !hlg the commodities be- cause we had the money to lend, or whether we had the money to lend be- cause we were able to ship the com- modities. The two processes went hand 4n hand and both were ultimately due o the fundamental economic conditions pesulting largely from the war { During 1928 and 1920 it became in- ipreasingly difficult to continue this sell- | ing-lending process because of the ab-| sorption to funds. both domestic and foreign, in our inflated stock market. Interest rates throughout the world yose to high levels, and in some coun- ttries of Europe, particularly those that had depended most largely on Ameri- can capital, the shortage of funds be- came very acute. But for the time being the United States was in no posi- tion to supply this deficiency. For some months after this situation arose our export trade remained at a high level, grobsbly because Europe had during The World War re- | WS DOLLAR the preceding period of easy money | borrowed more than enough to pay for current, shipments of goods. But gradu- ally the ‘supply of dollar exchange abroad became depleted; forelgn cur- rencies sank to low levels in our mar- ket, and for a time gold was shipped | to this country despite the shortage of | funds in Europe. Foreign Exchange Advances. This situation now appears to have been corrected. Foreign exchange rates have advanced, and interest rates throughout the world have moved dow ward. Credit conditions in the United States in the near future should be more inviting to foreign borrowers than they have been for some time. Just at present the state of business is not such as to encourage large security flotations, but this is a passing phase. Europe will continue to need American capi- tal, and America will continue to look to Europe as a fleld for investment and as a market for its products. These financial conditions, which are almost world wide in their application, are accompanied by a variety of com- plications in many countries that ordi- narily provide important markets for American goods. Several nations have recently conducted experiments in price control for thelr leading products, With most unfortunate results. In England financial stability has been maintained, but apparently at the cost of industrial depression. Italy has also been strug- gling with the problems imposed by currency stabilization. Germany, whic! has depended more largely on Ameri- can capital than any other European country, has recently encountered seri- ous financial difficulties. Brazil has been depressed by the de- cline in the price of coffee and the doubt that has arisen as to the future success of the govermentally sponsored defense program. Cuba has been sim- ilarly affected by the sugar situation. Argentina, concerned by the trend of her foreign trade and by large gold ex- ports, closed the Caja de Conversion, the Argentine gold conversion office. Australia is contending with a diffi- cult exchange situation. Political chaos has interfered with trade in China. Japan has passed through a critical financial period, aggravated by the ef- fects of the earthquakes 6w years ago. Mexico, Nicaragua and other Latin American countries have been affected by political disturbances. In all nations having the silver standard the recent drastic decline in the value of that metal to the lowest level on fec- ord has created difficulties. With this variety of obstacles to encounter, the immediate outlook for American foregn trade is clouded with many doubts. Looking into the more distant future we are justified in taking & much more op- timistic view. We shall continue to have difficult Yrobl{‘ms to face; but if these are intelligently met we may be confident that the trend of our forely trade will econtinue to respond to tfi: influences making for expansion. It must be recognized that the - ess whereby we have maintaine export trade balance in commodities in recent years cannot be continued indefi- nlhlg. We have been passing through an abnormal petiod which appears to ing to a close. We have just seen that the interest on our loans abroad has already increased to & point where it represents a large export item in our balance of payments. it year it was not much smaller than our surplus of commodity éxports. Evety new foreign issue floated in this country tempor- arily stimulates our export trade, but ultimately it must increase the pressure upon us to receive foreign and services in payment of the interest due to us; and unless we can find a way to admit such goods and services without unduly restricting the market for our ovfln products our export trade must suffer. Loans Will Exert Pressure. In other words, the loans that have enabled us to expand our export trade balance in recent years will, as time goes on, exert an increasing pressure in the other direction. The effects of intergovernmental debt payments and of payments of interest and principal on American loans abroad will be to decrease purnhulng wer and to cre- ate a strong demand for dollar exchange in the debtor countries. These factors, in turn, will tend to depress prices in those countries and to raise prices in the United States, and at the same time to exert an upward pressure on the ex- change rate of dollars in terms of for- eign currencies. The effect of this situation will be to make it increasingly difficult for American producers to maintain costs at a competitive level and less difficult for European producers to offer strong inducements in the mat- ter of price, Btated in broad economic terms this means simply that the United States will find it increasingly difficult to maintain its position as an exporting nation and to prevent the encroach- ments of foreign producers in its do- mestic and foreign markets. A creditor nation is normally an importing nation. existing loans. But the insistent demand for funds for European rehablilitation will not continue forever. In the long run Europe will probably not offer the most remunerative fleld for the investment of American capital, as it has in the last decade, and we must look elsewhere for opportunities to invest our funds. As long as foreign countries continue to | provide such outlets our export trade balance in commodities can be main- tained. Little by little, European coun- tries will probably be supplanted by the nations of the Southern Hemisphere, the New World and the Far East as the principal sources of demand for Amer- ican capital and American goods. But thess flelds for investment and export cannot be developed with the small amount of effort that has been required to respond to the desperate need of Europe during the last 10 years, | and ultimately our income from invest- ments abroad will become 80 large that we shall not be able to find new foreign outlets fast enough to provide us with {the means of maintaining our export | trade balance. | Concerned With Readjustment. ‘This point, however, appears to be far in the future—far enough, at any rate, 50 that we need not be seriously con- cerned with it at present. What does concern us is the complex set of read- justment that we must face when Euro- pean rehabilitation is completed; when the New World and the Orlent, rather than Europe, furnish our chief markets: and when a revived European industrial | system becomes a serious competitor in | such markets. To appreciate the true significance of this prospect we must rid ourselves of the fallacious view that the restoration of European industry will, in itself. result in the destruction of our foreign markets, and tha: our loans to Europe are suicidal because they pro- mote this restoration. As long as the world’s consuming acity s larger than its producing capacity—and that will probably be forever—there will al« ways be markets for all the goods that can be produced, provided the right goods are produced and the right outlets | are found. | Our problem in coming years will be o produce the right goods and to find the outlets for them, chnnllng directions of our productive effort, as this is made | necessary by the changing character of our markets. By using all the produc- tive and distributive facilities at our | dispogal it will be sible for us (o re- tain some of the foreigh markets that were thrown into our laps as a result of the economic paralysis of Europe due | 8o far the United States has not be- | come an importing nation because it | has recelived “invisible” imports and | has increased its foreign investments | fast enough to offer the receipts from | THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MAY 18, 1930—PART TWO. “QUOTA MA D” LAST YEAR THIS YEAR NEXT YEAR oo é’ : % D FAMOUS advertising agent was talking with me about business in these United States. It is his function to prepare the advertising for several large manufacturers and to consult with them on their sales problems. He goes home every night all tired out. He says he doesn’t know any- body in business who is getting any real fun out of it. “I'll give you my program for a typical day,” he said. “I come down to my office at a little be- fore 9, and there is the sales manager of a shoe company walting for me. His pockets are full of charts. His company’s sales are 20 per cent ahead of last year, but is he satisfied? Not for a minute. He must set to the World War. TFor the rest we must seek new outlets, not a few of which will be found in the restored Eu- rope itself. Further difficulties will present them- selves in the form of political obstacles. Despite the fact that economists with an international viewpoint have tried to remove some of the trade barriers that have hampered the flow of goods between countries, the world is being swept by a tide of protectionism, of which the United States is designed to be the principal victim. We must not be too intolerant in our attitude toward such measures, irritating and trouble- some though they may be. In some respects the present position of mroge is similar to our own position in the early days of our industrial development and the same means are being used to meet the situation. Tariff barriers are being erected in an effort to foster the growth of an enfeebled industrial system. Our rapidly growing export trade in motor cars, for example, s threatened by import duties in several countries, while some nations rigidly limit the number of foreign automobiles that may be imported into their coun- try. Australia has endeavored to cor- rect her unfavorable exchange position by enacting an emergency tariff law which, in combination with the depres- sion now existing in that country, is expected to result in the decline of 50 per cent in her imports from the United States this year, Typical of European Aftitude. These measures are typical of the attitude that is developing in Europe d elsewhere toward American com- mercial aggressiop. The agitation for the removal of the trade barriers that were erected after the war, a move- ment _in which our own industrialists and financiers took & part, is react- ing against us by taking the form of & pan-European spirit in economic affairs. This is typified by Briand's proposal for a United States of Europe. The immi diate political possibilities of such scheme do not appear to be very great, but its potentialities s an economic weapon directed against the United States are considerably more impressive. The current depression in our foreign commerce, then, is not to be considered as marking the end of expansion in our forelgn commerce, but rather as a tem- porary halt, providing us with an op- portunity to consolidate our position and to prepare for the future. In one sense it may be regarded as the end of one era and the beginning of an- other, since in the future we probably will have to depend for our foreign ma: kets more largely on natural economic and geographical factors and less on the unnatural post-war situation in Europe. How can we best prepare ourselves for the difficult period that lies ahead of us? Many possible ways suggest them- selves. For the time being we can help both others and ourselves by a reason- able degree of leniency in dealing with | foreign customers who, by reason of | conditions over which they have little or no control, find themselves unable to live up to the letter of their contracts. We can apply the same principle in a more general attitude of tolerance and broadmindedness in dealing with busi- ness men in countries where customs, laws and trade ‘practices are different from our own. We can strive for bet- ter transportation and communication facilities. We can support and encour- age the efforts that are being made by our Government to place better diplo- matic and trade-promotion facilities at our disposal. Most important of all, we can en- deavor to dispel the fallacious and short-sighted views of those who look askance upon our import trade as an invasion of the natural and rightful markets of our producer: Pt Canada Finds Woman Senator Is Not “Noisy” Canada’s new and first woman Sena- ator, Mrs. Cairine Wilson, wife of Nor- man F. Wilson, millionaire lumberman of Ottawa, mother of eight children and a millionairess in her own right, evi- dently belleves that silence is golden. Since she has taken her seat in the Upper House of the Canadian Parlia- ment, Senator Wilson has been content to do her work quietly and without con- tributing to the debates. Her reserve has won the hearts of her elderly ool- leagues, who at first somewhat resented the fact that a ‘“noisy and gabby” woman wag to occupy & Reat in the Senate, which some one dubbed the most. exclusive club in Canada by vir- tue of the fact that its membership is limited to 96 and appointments are for life. South vAfriflmn Prove Heavy Tea Drinkers South Africa probably consumes more tea per head of population than any other country in the world. The En&- lishman's 4 o'clock tea is an insignifi- cant habit compared with the eonstant demand for tea that obtains there. Most everybody has a cup of tea before rising, and this is followed very shortly by tea at breakfast. In every office and shop, and even in most factories, all the em- ployes knock off for a few minutes at 10:30 for tea and again at 3:30, and in between these times there is a cup of tea with lunch. Returning home from work in the eévening one is greeted by & cup of tea, and after dinner has been digested kettle 8 again_singing on the cooker for more tea. Besides this routine, fresh tea is brewed)for every visitor to almost every houss and also for customers in most offices. f S the mark for next year 50 per cent ahead. “Then I go over to the office of a food manufacturer. He has Lust closed up the best year of is history. And we try to fig- ure out how he can do twice as much again! “I lunch with the officers of a cement company. If they would ret together with their compet- tors, and agree to curtali pro- duction just a little, they could all make more money. The Erk‘e of their product might ave to be raised a trifle, but I doubt it, because the sales ex- ense would be that much less. ut will they curtail? Never. Every year must show bigger figures. The quotas must go up and up. “The trouble with this coun- try is that we have gone crazy on the subject of volume. We are quota mad.” As he talked I recalled a con- versation I had some years ago with an American who repre- sents a French manufacturer in this country. “I have a heart-breaking time with that Frenchman,” he sald. “Every year I go over there and plead with him to double his factory. We could sell twice as much of his stuff Jt he would only turn it out. And do you know what he says? He just waves his hands in French fashion and sputters: ‘Why should I double my plant and work twice as hard?> Iand my family are making money enough. We have a good time. We enjoy our lives. Why should (Copyright, 1990 HUGE DETROIT RIVER TUBE CHANGES TUNNEL-BUILDING |Is First Subway to Be Constructed on Dry Land, Floated to Suite and Submerged. BY EARLE W. GAGE. ARING engineers are now put- ting the finishing touches on America’s first international traffic tunnel, which links De- troit with Canada. An old dream comes true as the $25,000,000 tube is projected under the Detroit River, the first of the kind to be de- signed and bullt. The subway will in- troduce new efficiency to modern trans- rtation and blaze the way to economy the movement of the great fleets of motor cars which now congest the De- troit area and border city district. This is the first tube to be built on dry land, floated to the site and sub- merged to the bottom of the river it is to span. It is one of the first tubes to be projected and completed in America within the estimated cost. Moreover, it is the first river tunnel projected’ and completed by private initiative, All others have been con- structed by municipalities or States. ‘Windsor Residential Center. Even since motor cars made Detroit a metropolitan district, resulting in such a congestion of traffic as to ren- der it necessary that a large part of the population reside on the opposite side of the river, in Canada, and necessitat- ing the movement each year of more than 2,000,000 motor cars and 18,000,- 000 persons back and forth across the waterway, engineers have visualized a day when a modern tunnel would span the river. Detrolt has grown by more than 50 per cent in the last decade, while the development on the Windsor side of the river has been 100 per cent. Into the picture came Frederick Mar- tin, dreamer, worker and Windsor Sal- vation Army man. He visualized the method and obf ied the necessary en- gineering assistance to insure success. He “sold” the idea to private interests, and led in raising $25,000,000 needed to complete the project. The construction has been carried on without interruption of traffic on the Detroit River, one of the most con- gested waterways in the world. ‘The engineers adopted a new in tunnel building quite in contrast to the burrowing methods previous ployed. Work was started in January, 1929, and it is expected the tunnel will be opened for use in a few months, since the engineers are ahead of sched- ule. Experts say a new method has been evolved at Detroit that will revo- lutionize tunnel construction. New Methods Described. Mi Burnside R. Vale is chief en- ineer in charge. ‘“Our method differs rom those previously used.” Maj. Vale says. “Previously engineers have sunk their segments—if they did sink them— by simply filling them with water or sand and water. We place no additional weight inside the tube, but sink it by simply pouring cement on the outside untfi it comes down to the surface of the water. Then we speed it on its way to the bottom of the river by adding enor- mous _concrete blocks that weigh 8,000 pounds. “When the divers have gone down and bolted the segment to the next one, all we need to do is to knock out the wooden bulkhead, and there we have another water-tight link in our tunnel.” Each of the tunnel segments is 250 feet long and has an inside diameter of 31 feet and an outside measurement of 35 feet. The sections were built of 24-foot strips of heavy sheet metal, joined tfogether by means of the new electrical and welding process, thus in- suring & one-plece segment of great trength and airtight. ‘These giant steel tubes were fabri- cated at Ojibway, Ontario, six miles from the tunnel site. After the joints had been tested by use of powerful hy- draulic machines to make sure that each section was watertight, wooden bulkheads were bullt into éach end and the great 450-ton tube wams launched into the river, much as a ship is handled. Then tugboats tock hold and towed the great tube to the dock of the Steel Corporation, where about 4,200 cubic yards of conerete were poured into the forms to make the outer lining. When this had been completed, the huge tube weighing about 8,000 tons, was towed to the site. Air was pumped into the shell to make the cargo buoy= ant for the trip. Steel Towers Erected. Upon reaching the site of the tunnel steel towers were erected at either end of the tube. These assisted the engi- neers in getting the range in “shooting™ the heavy charge 85 feet to the trench that had been excavated for it in the bottom of the river. When the signal was given the alr valves were openecd, and the heavy load shot to the bot- tom. This ealled for the precision of A Swiss watchmaker, sifice thare wAs only an inch allowance for error, vet the engineers did not need this, so accurate was their marksmanship. “The tion of the trench across reception of the tubes ra the river for the consisted of as nearly as pos- sible to the required Maj. Vale sald. “This necessitated a trench with an approximate bottom of 20 feet and a depth of water varying from 65 to 83 feet. The clay bed of the river is very stiff and stands better than a 1-to-1 slope. Just previous to sinking & tube & bed of sand and gravel was placed in the bottom of the trench and brought to the exact grade by use of & specially designed leveling device. ‘This consists of a raft constructed of steel pontoons 5 feet in diameter. “The two outside pontoons are 70 feet in length, and at either end four shorter pontoons are placed parallel with the longer ones, thus making & rectangular float bound by steel pon- toons. Steel rails are mounted on the two long pontoons, on which runs a traveling crane. Suspended by four cables from this carriage is a steel grill age constructed of I-beams. The float Is anchored directly over the trench, and at each corner are suspended con- crete blocks weighing about 12!¢ tons in water. 2 Blocks Lowered Into Trench. “These blocks are lowered into the trench and the suspending cables are pulled out, submerging the float about 6 inches deeper than its normal draft. This prevents the action of the waves from moving the float and holds the track on the pontoon at the correct position. As clam shells filled the trench with sand and gravel, this de- vice moves backward and forward and the grillage drags the material to the correct, grade. “‘Some 800 feet from the Detroit Har- bor line five clusters of plles were driven down. To these were moored each tube while it was being prepared for the sinking operation. When ready for the submerging, two buoyance scows were placed over the partly submerged tube. Heavy cables were attached to direct the sinking job. Because no water was admitted to the tube, very little in excess of 50 tons weight was handled, although each segment weighed from 7,500 to 8,000 tons. “The melhod of connecting the tubes when they were submerged into the trench may be of special interest. An unusually simple and effective detall was devised to join the several sub- aqueous sections. Cast-steel lugs were riveted to the sections. On one end of | the lug was Flnczd, immediately below the horisontal diameter, a lip plaie that extended about 18 inches geyond the upper half. On the other end of the 1ug was placed a similar plate, Steel Pin Joins Lugs. “The first section sunk had this lug on its outer end below the horisontal diameter, 50 that the next was lowered into position quite easily. ‘The lugs ‘were connectéd by a 5-inch steel pin, held in position by a ring. This as- sisted the divers in putting the sections securely together, before the wooden bulkheads were knocked out.” In excavating the approaches to the tunnel, the largest shield machine ever used in America was employed. It was necessary to bore a distance of 466 feet on the Detrolt side of the river and 986 feet on the Ontario side. The Detroit terminal is but one block distant from the Woodward avenue business district and opens into four streets, which will materially assist in handling the heavy traffic without congestion. The tunnel extends under Randolph street to the :;‘V:xll'éew thfle Clnlldl.len harbor line and under priva roperty to the Windsor terminal. b The total length from terminal to terminal is 5,135 feet, and its length from street grade to street grade 5,845 feet. The maximum grade on the De- troit side is 5 per cent, as compared With 3.95 per cent on the Windsor side. The location of the terminals and the government requirements of 30 feet of Wwater at the harbor lines and 45 feet in the channel, were the governing factors in establishing the grades. Shield Machine Bores to River. The giant shield machine which “bored” the tunnel from the terminal to the under-river location of the steel and concrete segments, is 35 feet wide and 16 feet long. More than 100 “muck- Hydraulic jacks, exerting a pressure of 150 tons, drive the monster machine forward 30 inches at a_jump, “The outstanding feature of the shield-driven tunnel is its steel lining," said Maj. Vale. “Heretofore, on shield- driven tunnels, cast iron or wooden lin- ing has been used. In this tunnel the lin- ing consists of stamped and electrically weided steel plates. This kind of lining was adopted over the cast iron on the basis of economy. The weight of the steel lining s about 2.3 tons a lineal foot of tunnel, while a comparable one of east iron would weigh About 8 tons a lineal foot. “The liner plates are in the shape of mn‘ 24 feet wide, § feet long and 10 iches deep, mads three-eighths steel plate. The ers are stiffened by means of angles and stiffen- ‘ade of the tube,” | N /A I we work ourselves to death?’” That seems to us Americans a very terrible utterance. It is treason to the spirit of modern business. Of course, 2 man should force his production, and his sales, and force his own poor mind and body until he dies at the age of with an order blank in his hand. Somewhere between the French attitude and our atti- tude there must be a half-way point that would combine the best elements of both. “Life,” says the Bible,” is more than bread, and the spirit than raiment.” It also asks the question, “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own life?"” Or, in modern language, what's the use of killing your- self by being quote mad? ers of I-beams, which weigh 14.75 pounds a foot; are welded on 13-inch centers across the narrow dimension of each pan. These take the thrust of the shield jack as it moves forward. Each segment weighs about 1,000 pounds, and 11 segments and a key comprise a complete ring of lining. As the shield progresses, these linings are erected -mf bolted, the joints between each successive ring and between each segment of each ring being water- proofed. 30 Hydraulic Jacks Used. “Spaced around the circumference of the shield machine are 30 150-ton hydraulic jacks. These, acting against the lining rings, shove the shield for- ward, making moves of 21; feet. As each forward thrust is made the jacks are released and a 2':-foot steel ring is bolted into position to act as the lining. ‘There are four working plat- forme.” 8o accurate were the engineers in judging the underground operations that they were able to steer the power- ful machine right into the submerged steel tunnel that had been placed in the river. After the Detroit side had been bored out, the great machine was dismantled and removed to the Windsor side. The completed tunnel will have road- ways 22 feet wide, with an overhead clearance of 14 feet. The width will permit the operation of two traffic lines, one in either direction, with an additional lane in case of emergency. This permits of & traffic capacity of 1,000 motor cars an hour in each direction. Elaborate plans are bel.nf made for the expeditious handling of the heavy traffic. The same methods that have been tried and found satisfactory in the Holland Tunnel are to be adopted. Disabled cars will be removed with split second dispatch, safeguarding every minute of the swiftly moving caravan of underground travelers. Two Plants Ventllate Tube. An adequate supply of pure air is insured by the two powerful ventilat- ing plants on opposite sides of the riv Eact structure is 110 feet and 50 by 90 feet in area. There are about 3,000 glass louvers through the vents of which fresh air is drawn by blowers and forced up from under the roadway of the tunnel. The vitiated air and ex- haust gases are drawn up through the ceiling of the tunnel, driven back to the ventilating plant and expelled through two small stacks. There is a battery of 12 12-foot fans in each plant, | providing suficient capacity to change 1,000,000 cubic feet of air in the tunnel every 90 seconds. Thus every minute and & half all | the air in the long tunnel will be com- | pletely changed. To safeguard against | any emergency, 80 per cent excess blow- | er and fan capacity is being provided in each ventilation plant. Although the Detroit-Canada Tunnel parallels in many respects to the Hol- land tubes, they differ widely. The Holland is nearly two miles in length, has two lanes in each of the two tubes, which were bored by shield and drilled through rock and river muck at a cost of $48,000,000. Thanks to the hard clay substance in the bottom of the Detroit River, engineers had a lucky break, which saved the tunnel owners millions of dollars and permitted adopt- ing the unique submerging plan for sinking the 10 segments, COrude Methods Recalled. ‘The efficlency of the modern tube builder contrasts strikingly with the methods first used in tunneling into the earth. [Eighteen centuries ago, when the Romans built thelr most famous tunnel, tapping Lake Celano, 11 years were needed, and an army of 30,000 men was used up—literally used up—in the project. Slaves and mili- tary prisoners were sent into the work- ings to throw water upon the rock strata, which had been lufirh!nud by long-burning fires, anld they died by the hundreds. Again and again water carriers failed to emerge. Through the choking alr they penetrated until they were close to the rock face. and then cast their water against that glowi urface. Instantly vast clouds of steam rushed at them, and only the agile escaped a scalding. Their cries were mingled with deat- ening reports as the rock cracked and split under the sudden econtraction. The murky light of torches made of the weird scene & subterranean inferno, and the diggers who came in to dis- lodge the ris stumbled over the bodies of the water men lying beside their jars. - Minister of Railways In China Celebrates Bun Fo, minister of rallroads of the national Chinese government, who celebrated his first anniversary of tenure of that office on October 31, has an eminent record. Others have held office longer than Sun Fo, son of the Iate Dr. Sun Yat-sen, but few have faced the difficulties of administration he has, Me recounted his projects on the anniversary and dwelt upon con- struction plans in the offing and upon the determination of the ministry to cover China with a network of alrways, During his discourse a six-passenger \Ahmerllun llm'::’\lb'l’ln p!-:; :.'-‘;fi'.’,:' ot e elt; of y_an , for- mer] !:atmche United States Airmafl {President, However, Pub Continued From Third Page) Ve d. Sugar, railways, roads and :&::r':gnvltlelgwere looked after with | a new spirit. Havana began to assume the air of a capital of distinction. Cuba herself began to look up in the| world. Not only was a Cuban elected to the World Court and another chosen | | president of the Assembly of the League | of Nations, but Havana became the| center of world attention when the | sixth Pan-American Conference met there in 1928. Toward the end of that year another election was due, and it came time for Machado to redeem his promise to | retire. What was he to do? It was generally conceded that Machado's administration was the best that Cuba had had since the days of Gen Wood. The President himself would naturally not be the last to ac- cept this view. The history of Cuban litics afforded ample room for the ear that if he stepped out there would be a prompt reversion to the old ways. Perhaps it was his duty to hold on in spite of his pledge. This was a dangerous argument and might well be a delusive one. But ap- parently Machado accepted it. Con- gress had already passed a resolution extending his term—and its own as well. Such amendments to the con- stitution must be approved by a con- stitutional convention. A convention was called and—was it by chance or design?—found itself disposed to go be- yond Congtess in its rt to preserve for Cuba the benefits of Machado's rule. Instead of extending his term for two years, they provided a six-year term ‘without re-election—but declared that the re-election limitation should apply only to Presidents elected under the amendment. Then it proceeded to the resolve that in the then state of the country President: Machado was “unavoidably bound to accept & new presidential period.” Opponents Charge Tyranny. Opposition leaders ralsed a ery of holy horrors at these—to Lhem—dfienl proceedings. But Machado, once r solved to retain the presidency, wi quite as capable of playing the Cuban political game as were his opponents. The power of the government was used to frustrate the efforts of the opposition to line up the political parties against Machado. In fact, those parties were actually taken into the Machado camp. And when he went to the polls it was as the nominee of all three of the Cuban parties—and there was no o posing candidate. Machado was Te- elected. ‘The President had fought the poli- ticians on their own ground and with their own methods. It may well be argued that in doing so he lowered his own standards and dragged his ad- ministrative record in the mire. But he beat the politicians at their own game—beat them to a standstill. Moralists may condemn or commend. Machado broke his pledged word, he twisted the constitutional procedure to his own ends. On the other hand, his tactics have been wholly iIn keeping with the Cuban political tra- dition—with one difference. Heretofore such methods have been employed to keep bad governments in office; this time they served to prolong the life of ‘)"u:le best government Cuba has ever o 1Is this 4 mere empty boast, or is there substance behind it? Assuredly, there is some. Machado points to the devel- oment of public works. The Central Highway is nearing completion. The new capitol stands in Havana for all to see. The port has been improved. Th2 hospitals are making excellent records Prisons likewise. Aviation is rapidly extending its lines. Graft is certainly at a new low point. No pardons are granted, even to those who claim the President's friendship. The courts are not interfered with by the executive. Cuba's government is, in short, func- tioning with reasonable efficiency and delivering & new measure of administra- tive value. { _In the general improvement there re- | mains one exceedingly sore spot—the | national lottery. The Cuban lottery hfllltl ra | been & source of corruption and for years. The tickets are sold in frac- tions—100 fractions to a number. The government price of each fraction is 20 cents, but the tickets are sold to the public at from 26 to 29 cents. As each bi-weekly drawing runs to hundreds of thousands of dollars, the right to sell tickets 18 obviously a profitable privi- lege. ‘Traditionally, the President of Cuba controls the distribution of lottery tickets. By the consignment of certain numbers each week for each drawing, he has been able to purchase the sup- port of Senators and Representatives. With the remainder he has retained | control of & large seurce of income, | which he uses for political purposes. | Machado has not cleaned up the lot- | tery scandal. He frankly admits in con- | versation that “while there are many things in my administration of which 1 am proud, the lotfery is not one of | them.” He goes on, however, to give | his version of the use he makes of it. He says that pensions for revolutionary widows and allowances for orphans were formerly made by special acts of Con- gress, and that there was a good deal {of graft in connection with them. He ! has stopped the old practice and uses the lottery funds to afford help in worthy cases. Unexpected testimony to the high quality of Machado's government once came from one of the two or three out- standing leaders of the opposition. He was fresh from a long session of the | supreme court, in which he had se- | cured from that body a decree holding unconstitutional Machado's order pro- hibiting political meetings during the | sugar season. In the flush of victory, this captain of the anti-Machado forces freely admitted that the President had at once acquiesced in the order of the court. In response to repeated ques- tions, he also conceded great improve- ments in many departments of the gov- ernment under the Machado regime. “But,” he declaimed, “there is one thing for which we can never forgive Machado. By his unconstitutional methods he has killed the political life of Cuba!™ People Express Hope in Future. Any one familiar with the political life of Cuba would have been prompted to murmur reverently a solemn “amen,” with a furtber brief praver that its soul | might rest in such a8 it deserved. Cuba could well to wait several years for the birth and development of & new political life. It could hardly be Wotse than the oné Machado is alleged to_have killed. But there was significance for the outsider in the fact that this leader of Machado's critics should center his ob- jections exclusively on the illegality of the Machado regime and concede its general constructive ability. Even President Machado, great, pow- erful, grizzled warrior that he is. finds himself impotent against world eco- nomic forces, Cuba is a one-crop coun- try. Its economic life depends upon the price of sugar, While the war paralysed other producing areas and the price of sugar soared, Cuba fairly rolled in wealth. New ground was iplanted to cane as fast as it could repared. Newm';uen%:\!." or crlrnuadlng’ 18, wel:e erected. The sugar-producidg capacity of the island was fairly doubled. Flood of Bugar Forces Price Down, But when the other countries got back to producing, the flood of sugar brought e price down nat only to normal but far below it. Afier a taste Service, distributing leaflets. At inter- mittent intervals during the program & 80-plece Chinese military orchestra forelgn classical selections Chinese. D! sang in Even_closing and and Jamaican! laborers of jewels and sables, Cuba 'was rele- gated to an unaccustomed &oveny. door to the Maytian who had previ- Bencourt, R.-E. Th Meredith, E-M842s. Priedrich, MACHADO, CUBA’S HEAD BREAKS POLITICAL CREDO Is Giving Island an Efficient, Constructive Government ¢ Works Advanced. sufficient to restore the status of the Cuban laborer. The most efficient mills continued to grind and to pay expenses, possibly even to make a little money, but the others could not dispose of more than a fraction of their normal output. The laborers suffered accordingly. The average Cuban worker in the country districts knows nothing of eco- nomic lawa nor the working of the world sugar market. He has been ac- customed to hear the government poli- ticlans take credit for prosperity and to hear the opposition politicians blame the government for its absence. In his political philosophy hard times are the precursor of revolution. And never have times seemed harder than at present. So it is that all through the island there runs an undercurrent of expec- tancy. In the little fishing ports and on the secluded plantations there is talk in hushed tones of what is to come. And moving from group to group, in- citing them to new protests, are the politicians who would oust Machado and find comfortable berths in the regime with which they would replace his. President Machado himself, undoubt- edly aware of the widespread discontent and convinced that it is dus to no fault of his own, takes every precaution to prevent a revolutionary movement from gaining headway. Political organiza- tlons in the guise of labor unions are vigorously suppressed with the custom- ary references to Communist agitators. Lrgitimate labor movements suffer with the others. Press Held Under Close Rein. ‘The press is held by a close rein, thereby affording the opposition an easy appeal to the 'ree press” sentiment of this country; but freedom of the press implies & pregs with some standards of its own. Too aften in Cuba the press has been an instrument of political villification and personal blackmail. Here, , the innocent suffer with the .unkyo. Gerardo Machado y Morales, twice President of Cuba, is & politician raised in the Cuban tradition. He plays the somewhat sordid game of politics as his predecessors have played it and as his opponents play it. And he plays to win. But he has brought into the Cuban situation & much-needed new element. He has used his power and his ability to better purpose than his predecessors. Even if & combination of political oppo- sition and cconomic depression should result in forcing him from the presi- dency, the people of Cuba will not again readily accept a lower standard of pub- lic service than Machado has given them. On this account their historians may accord him the rank of statesman. —— Giant Observatory In Japan Finished ‘The largest astronomical observatory In the Far East, and one which is sur- passed only by observatcries in Ger- many and the United States, has just been completed in Sanaka, a small sub- urb of kio. The total cost of the work 18 put at $200,000. The length of the telescope is 11 meters and the diameter of the lens 26 inches. Work on the bullding to house this and many other scientific instruments which are included in the observatory equipment has been going on for more than three years under the direction of Dr. Hashi- moto, & noted specialist in astronom- lcal instruments. “At last the time has come when Japanese astronomers can work freely,” the doctor said after the observatory had been opened. “Al- though we h had the will to go more deeply into astronomical lines in this country, we have been unable to do so because of lack of equipment. The it~ uation was tantamount to being at war without weapons. We shall now be able to engage in friendly rivalry with our brother astronomers in all parts of the world.” PUBLIC LIBRARY Recent accessions to the Public Library and lists of recommended read- ing will appear in this column every Sunday. Poetry. Bernbaum, Ernest, ed. Anthology of Romanticlsm. 3 v. YP-9B48T. !rlg’;a. R. 8. The Testament of Beauty. -B763t Cullen, Countee. The Black Ohrist. YP-C895b 1. Deutsch, Babetie. Potable Gold. ZYP- p. Five Poets: Isobel Stone, Edith Mirick, Jewell Miller, Norman Macleod, Ben- jamin Musser. YP-9F59. Shurter, E. D. B, and Watkins, D. E, comps. Masterpleces of Modern Verse. 1026. YP-9ShoTm. Thomas, Edward, comp. The Pocket Book of Poems and Songs for the Open Air. YP-9T364. er, C. A, ed. Prize Poems, 1913- 929. - YP-OW 124, ‘dmund. Poets, Farewell! YP- Adult Bdueation. Alderman, L. R. Adult Education Ac- tivities During the Biennium 1026- 28. IL-Al 23. Lombard, E. C. Parent Education 1926-28. IKRS-L836. Prosser, C. A, and Bass, M. R. Adult Education: The Evening Iudustrial School. IL-P94. Shaw, W. B. Alumni and Adult Eduta- tion, IL-8h29, Travel, Karl. Rome and Central Baedeker, ly. (Ref, does not circulate.) America’s England. Laughlin, C. E. 8o Youre Going to ny and Austrin. G47-L36s. Laughlin, C. E. Where It All Comes rue in Scandinavia. G48-L36w. Untermeyer, Louls. Blue Rhine, Black Forest. (47-Un83. Nursery Schools. Foster, Mrs, J. C, and Mattson, M. L. ;:lrnry 8chool Procedure., IKH- n. Howes, Mrs. E. D. P, and Beach, Doro- thea. The Co-operative Nursery School. IKH-H8S. Stevinson, E. The Open-air Nursery School. 1923, IKH-Bt484. Science. Harvey-Gibson, R. J. Two Thousand Years of Science. LA-H268t. Milllkan, R. A. Bcience and the New Civilization. LA-M624s. Bhlsrg;." R. W. General Science. LA- Sheldon. H. H. Outline of Science. 3v. LA-8he4, Biography. Disraell, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield. The Letters of Disraell to N 3 v. Chesterfield and Lady Bradford. E-D83a3. Edwards, J. M. David Lloyd George. 8 v. Becholler, Raymond. Vietor olier, ymond. Hugo. E-H877¢.B. 5 Mariejol, J. H. A Daughter of the Medicis. E-M3335m.E. Mn;,et, Jean. Georges Clemenceau. -C593m ] Miaciatelll, Plero. Savonarola. E-Sadmi.E. O'Connor, T. P. Memoirs of an Old Parliamentarian. 2 v. E-O¢87. 3 Life of George von. Letters ously come in to cut the cane was Hugel, freiherr not u" & Niece. E-H8736a.