Evening Star Newspaper, June 8, 1930, Page 27

Speci al Articles Part 2—-8 Pages EDITORIAL SECTION he Sunday Star., Editorial Pa‘ge BRIAND PEACE FORMULA " OVERLOOKS INJUSTICES France Finds United Desirable to tates of Europe Maintain Her Present Boundaries. BY FRANK H. SIMONDS. HE rather chilly reception which has followed the formal launch- ing of M. Briand’s project of a . United , States of Europe can hardly! ve taken any student of contemporary European -conditions by surprise. The simple truth is that Alf some sort of combination has become economically necessary, all forms of as- sociation remain politically impossible. Moreover, at the very outset it is clear that three of the five great powers are certain to stand outside—Britain, because it is at the moment turning its attention again to the possibilities of imperial preference, which would be the basis of a United States of the British Empire; Russia, because its rulers remain in a state of war against all the conceptions of the capitalistic world, and finally Italy, because it is in & state of super-nationalism. Even Hungary Might Join. Something considerable and useful ht still be achieved, however, were Germany to return a favorable answer to the proposal of the French foreign minister. Politically and economically the possibilities of some form of Euro- pean economic association based upon a Franco-German combination are pat- ent. The allies of France—Poland, Czechoslovakia, Jugoslavia and Ruma- nia—together with Belgium, might easily be drawn in, while Holland, Switzerland and Austria would tend to gravitate in the same direction. Even Hungary, surrounded by states sharing in the would probably end by Joining. But will Germany assent to any such rtnership with her ancient enemy? 'o be sure, the major differences be- tween France and Germany are rap- 4dly being abolished. With the evacua- tion of the Rhineland soon to be ac- complished, no direct cause of difficulty aside from the Sarre Basin remains. nd it is a matter of common agree- ent that the Sarre problem will be settled amicably and shortly, the terri- tory being returned to Germany and the French interests being liquidated by financial payments. Since, too, the Germans have clearly and definitively abandoned any claim to Alsace-Lorraine, there is no political barrier to co-operation in a European association. But the immediate trouble is that both France and Germany ‘would seek to be supreme in such a combination, France basing her claims upon her military strength, her alli- ances and her present prosperity, which ‘would make her the chief source of capital. Germany, on the other hand, has so fhr reconstructed and reorganized her industrial machinery as to be the most important single economic factor on the European continent. Her central posi- tion, too, gives her a great advantage. During the next decade or two Ger- many can with le confidence ook forward to rect the economic and commercial position she occupied in Central Europe before the World ‘War without any French partnership. Such a French partnership, too, ‘would impose certain political consider- ations. Germany would be bound to accept her present territorial status, to Tenounce all purpose to suj the Polish Corridor, to inch Austria ‘within her frontiers—in a word, to re- | mind sume her old dream of creating, even economically, a Mitteleuropa extending from the Baltic to the Adriatic. . Germans Probably Oppesed. ‘One may well doubt if any such pro- gram as that of M. Briand will find twide acceptance in Germany at the . The restoration of Ger- many’s economic and industrial condi- tions has justly awakened German pride and ambition. If the old dream of po- litical hegemony upon military power has unmistakably lost ground, there is still room and reason for an aspiration for industrial supremacy based upon German industrial organi- mation. Ever since her military defeat and domestic revolution Germany been under the shadow of the consequences of disasters, Her territory has been occupied by foreign armies, her finances have been subject to foreign control, while domestic disorders, fol- Jowed by the inflation debacle, have durther crippled her. Only now she is at last emerging from the helpless state of the past decade. She is in all re- spects on the point of resuming her mflm as a great power, with complete lom of action. ‘Why, then, should Germany now tie her hands by a partnership with France, which would obviously be the nucleus of any European union? And ‘what, after all, would a United States of Europe really amount to with Russia, Italy and Britain left out? Incidental arrangements with Prance, cartels over steel, potash and coal, certainly present obvious advantages, peaceful adjust- ment with France is patently desirable, but partnership in the larger sense, with a question as to which country would control 51 per cent of the stock, Beems less appealing. For France, of course, the advantages !ou!d be incalculable. At the basis of all French policy lies the necessity to preserve the status quo created by the war. The indepepdence of Poland, Czechoslovakia and Jugoslavia, with their present political frontiers, con- stitutes the single real guarantee of European security against eventual Ger- man hegemony. From the very close of the war all French statesmen have insisted that German acceptance of the status quo of the peace treaties must be the single guarantee of European peace. But Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria. Lithuania, are equally unprepared to |accept the status quo, while Italy, so {9 from favoring a United States of Europe, is proclaiming_all the pre-war precepts of nationalism. Nor is there |any country, either among the victors or vanquished of the last war, prepared to surrender any of its political inde- | pendence. No common foe imposes unity on the political side. Unimpaired sovereignty is still the major principle of nationalism in all European states, big and little, Rome Appeal Balances. Politically, too, for Germany the old conception of #@h allilance with Russia to upset the peace treaties is now bal- anced by an unmistakable appeal com- ing from Rome to join in an Italo- German combination having as its pur- pose to abolish present French domi- nance. That Germany in any immedi- ate future will adopt either of these ideas is very unlikely, but it is not less plain that the United States of !.‘umDC' conception of Briand, with its inevitable ]!l‘;elixch partnership, is hardly less un- ely. It is conceivable that in the next few years a certain limited progress will be made in certain areas toward ad- Jjustments of tariff. In the Danube area and in the territory of the former Hapsburg monarchy the necessity for such adjustment is patent. France and Germany have already gone a long dis- tance in the matter of iron and steel, and Poland, Belgium and Luxemburg have joined in. Even Germany and Poland have quite recently reached promising if temporary tariff compro- mises. But it is easy to exaggerate the political significance of these relatively minor arrangements. In the larger view, while the project has enlisted a certain number of vision- aries in all countries, the conception of a United States of Europe is little more than one more French effort to insure the permanence of the existing territorial and political status of Eu- rope. At the bottom of any such scheme would necessarily lie the neces- sity of all members mutually to guar- antee each other’s frontiers. For France and all of her allies, Poland and the Little Entente states, this would be simple, for none desires any expansion. It would be satisfac- tory to the neutral: of the war—Scan- dinavian countries, Holland erland, together with Spain tugal—because their purposes are iden- tical. It would satisfy British ideas, because what Britain most desires is peace on the Continent. 1 But to the nations which feel them- selves either mutilated or wronguflly restricted—Soviet Russia, Fascist Italy and partioned Germany—the stabiliza- tion of Europe on present foundations would be inacceptable. And no eco- nomic advantage in the present state of in these countries would out- weigh- the political disadvantages. For all three governments—or, more exactly, for the Fascist and Soviet rulers and the German people—the Briand pro- gram would spell the ruin of most treasured aspirations and most firmly held purposes. Noble Conception on Surface. On the surface it seems a noble con- ception, and Americans, with the anal- ogy of their own union in mind, have found the project most appealing. Nor can any one mistake the fact that it would insure certain material advan- tages. Nevertheless, it is clear upon examination that inevitably M. Briand has hit upon the program most advan- tageous to his own country as the for- mula for European peace and prosperity. Fundamentally, the trouble with the Briand project, like the League of Na- tions, the Kellogg Pact and the once- famous and now forgotton Protocol of Geneva, lles in the fact that it consti- tutes a formula for preserving present peace without providing any remedy for past injustices—or what for various peo- ples appear injustices. It offers to cer- tain peoples the promise of prosperity but at the price of abandoning all ho of restoring what they conceive to their national unity or racial solidarity. Thus, despite the eminence of the statesman who has proposed it and the present influence of the country which he represents, the sensational proposal has fallen upon deaf ears. It has awakened a certain measure of academic interest and a degree of discussion in the public prints of Europe, but every- | where, even in M. Briand’s own coun- try, it has been treated as a counsel of perfection addressed to a continent of realities, a program of international- ism presented to a Europe in which na- tionalism js hardly less intransigeant than in that country which insists upon ““100 per cent Americanism.” (Copyright. 1930.) ‘Orchids, Known Best for Their Beauty, Are Also Source of Vanilla Flavoring ‘That the vanilla bean, the extract of which 8 used in almost every house- hold as flavoring for foods, is provided by the variety of tropical plant called the “orchid” is probably little known by even the best cooks. Orchids are best known for their beautiful flower, emblematic of opulence and fantasy. Zhey grow in their natural state as a tic inhabitant of the great trees ©of the forests in Mexico, Java, Sey- chelles and Brazil, and are especially common on the banks of the Orinoco Raver. The varlety that bears the vanilla bean is the vanilla planifolia, which grows with long fleshy stems and clings to the branches of trees by long aerial This species of orchid has a after ming, forms a pulpy fruit pod which averages half an inch thick and 6 to rootlets. gnen.\lh-'hlm flower, which, loo) 12 inches in length. Bear Fruit Third Year. ‘The plants are cultivated by setting cuttings at the foot of trees in a clear-. ing in the forest or by training them grow on a trellis. The plants bear fruit on the third year of planting. time of gathering is imporiant, be- quse i tne plants are immature the beans are almost flavorless, and if left 1o W0 long the pods split when dry. A slow drying process, either by the sun or artificially, is the main method used for curing the beans, after which the pods assume a shriveled and dark- ppeal An alternative is to soak the pods in boiling a woolen brown appearance. ‘water and then dry them in while drying d! bag, The g a syrupy liquid of oily character which @ametimes causes a peculiar skin infec: tion to the workers unless precautions are taken. After the drying process is completed the beans are almst black, with & flat- tened, slightly tapered and wrinkled contour. The beans then contain about 1%, to 3 per cent of the chemical sub- stance “vanillin,” upon which the flavor depends. The surface of the pods some- times are covered with long crystal of this substance, and the household com- modity is extracted from the cut-up beans by dissolving in water and alcohol to which sugar has been added. Synthetic Process Ev ‘The chemist has evolved whereby “essence of vanilla’ made synthetically, and this process has been used to a large extent during the last few years. It is interesting to note that chemists have done their work so well that the artificial flavor is almost indistinguishable from the natural ex- This new process consists of ox- another chemical substance known as ‘“eugenol,” an extract of cloves, by blowing through a mass of this substance either ozone gas or ozonized air. It has also been found that by subjecting eugenol to ultra- violet rays the process is improved. The chemical product obtained from this synthetic method has the appear- ance ot clusters of white crystalline needles, with an intensely strong taste and odor of vanilla. These crystals are dissolved in alcohol or water so that ‘WASHINGTON, BY REAR ADMIRAL RICHARD E. BYRD. CANAL ZONE. BELIEVE that it is difficult fully to appreciate the two ends of the earth without flying over Ilarge areas of the Arctic Ocean or the South Polar Plateau. I must con- fess that even though I felt I had a fair knowledge of the problems of the South Polar flight before it was made, the actuality could not be realized until we were hovering over those precipitous mountains, those magnificent peaks which fringe the plateau. The contrast between the two polar regions of the earth, both from the point of view of flying and in their many other aspects, is almost startling. It is probable that the average person who has not made & study of these dis- tant areas has always thought of them as being somewhat similar—ice, snow, extreme cold, and a year of one day and one night. In such respects they are, of course, alike, but there resemblance ceases. One is an dtean; the other a vast plateau. The Antarctic Conti- nent is in the clutches of an ice age— the Arctic is not. It is odd that the great ocean basin of the North should correspond, so closely in depth to the height of the southern plateau—about 10,000 fzet. In other words, the earth at the North is pushed in to form the Arctic Ocean essences of various strength may be conveniently obtained. ———— and consequently of the sea is often much than that of land or air. . G SUNDAY JUST BEFORE START OF THE NORTH POLE FLIGHT. and sticks out below to form the high land around the South .Pole.. The earth in its movement through the uni- verse with the rest of our solar system is heading, so the astronomers tell us, toward a far-distant star, and the North Pole always points roughly in that direction. To me these facts nave long been a subject for speculation. ‘There is, of course, also the theory that the Antarctic Continent moved to its present position from another point on the earth’s surface. However it ma have been formed, the two areas are as different as is possible for two regions affected by similar climatic con- ditions, and these differences control the work of the explorer in both places. Divergent Polar Conditions. In penetrating the North Polar basin the problems to be met are diff~rent from those of the South, whether the explorer travel over the surface or through the air. In only one particu- lar did we find conditons similar in flying, and that is the prevalence of thick weather, fog_and clouds in the Summer months. But otherwise there are widely varying altitudes to be met by the aviator, and for the explorer who travels on the surface all the dif- | ference between moving over a lifeless contingent of great low plains and high mecuntains and forcing one’s way forward over or through the shifting ice of a great sea. Our Youngest Owen J. Roberts Has All Those Personal Characteristics Designed to Fit Him for His Post Sir Douglas Mawson, the great sci- entist, found an average yearly wind velocity of 50 miles an hour at his Winter quarters in Antarctica; that is astonishing—almost the flying speed of a plane. There is nothing in the Arctic comparable to this. Surroundings Different. ‘The surroundings of the two regions are also very different. The Arctic Ocean is inclosed by land over which $ | access may be had to its shores in most places and over which a retreat may be made. It supports some life along these shores, and even on the floating ice of the great sea itself life is found. Animals travel over its surface and live in its waters. The Antarctic Continent is surround- ed by an abysmal ocean, and its conti- nental shelf is much lower than any other continent on earth. It is sur- rounded at all times by a belt of ice, which at a few places in the Summer opens sufficiently to permit access to the land. How precarious is this open- ing was brought sharply to our minds by the experiences of the last season, with its unprecedented formation of pack ice, which nearly made our re- lief impossible. The Antarctic has been guarded by nature in a way which one cannot comprehend until one has seen it. There has been talk, I have heard, of taking sightseers to the Ant- arctic in a large ship. Such & trip OWEN J. ROBERTS, YOUNGEST JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT. ¢ —Drawn for The Sunday Star by S. J. Woolf. criminal cases and gained not only in- valuable experience as an advocate but a stock of knowledge of the criminal law which is usually lacking in the equipment of the modern civil prac- titioner. Step by step he had advanced to a position of leadership at the bar, and in 1923 was one of the small group of lawyers who, in common judgment, ‘were the most competent men at a bar which has never lacked practitioners of ability. He had made a favorable im- pression on the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States when from time to time he had appeared before them. He wl:".b'.e.n:n{nz tc' zchw‘m by lawyers in int parts of coun- ll!y both through the contacts incident to t litigation and through his effective work as a member of the Council of the American Law Institute. It could not be said, however, that he had as yet achieved a national reputa- tion. Bore Marks of Man of Hour. Here, then, was a man with all the qualities needed for an effective dis- charge of the duties of special counsel for the United States in the oil cases. BY GEORGE WHARTON PEPPER, Former United States Senator from - Pennsylvania. & DON'T see any reason why I shouldn’t appoint this man.” President Coolidge was think- ing aloud when he said this. He had been Chief Executive for only a few months. The oil scan- dals had furnished his political an- tagonists & weapon with which they hoped to destroy both him and his party. There was only one way in which to parry their hostile thrusts, and that was to proceed in methodical fashion in the courts to press with both vigor and sincerity the claims of the United States in the ofl cases. For this service an able, upright and fearless advocate was needed. Several such had been proposed, but suspicious Senators had rejected them. The serv- ice of a special counsel of two was con- templated—a Democrat and a Republi- can. In Senator Pomerene there had quickly been found an acceptable rep- resentative of the minority party. His nomination was confirmed by a vote of 59 to 13. What was wanted was a Re- publican who was not only conspicuous- ly fit, but certain to withstand the fire test of senatorial scrutiny. Something like & crisls in the fortunes of the new administration had been reached. The man of the hour had not yet appeared. Any one who knew Owen J. Roberts ‘well naturally thought of him at once in this emergency. He had the requisite character and capacity, and he had an unusual range of experience at the bar. Born in Philadelphia in 1875, he had reached the time of life when unim- paired vigor is tempered by matured experience. Sprung from Welsh stock, he had inherited rugged health and compelling virility. He had been brought up by God-fearing people and was & man of wholesome Tellgious con- viction and exemplary personal life, Educational Background Good. His educational background was good. Germantown Academy is a school which has the reputation of laying firm foundations for life. The College of the University of Pennsylvania still preserves the democratic spirit breathed into it by Benjamin Franklin. The law department of the same institution has always ranked high in the roster of American law schools. Roberts had given a good account of himself at every stage of his educational progress through these institutions. Soon after his graduation from the law school he was_appointed to a position on the teaching staff and later became a pro- fessor of law. As a teacher he at- tained marked popularity. He was not of the sort that talks endlessly while the class sits inert. He made his students think and stimulated them to self-development. Meanwhile, he was increasingly ac- tive in the practice of the law. It was a sad day for America when lawyers began so to direct their efforts that practice in the criminal courts became an exclusive specfalty. It had been a useful thing for the civil practitioner to have the tense experience of life- and-death struggles in the criminal court room. It had also been a whole- some thing for the man who tried criminal cases to be engaged in prac- tice which took him out of the atmos- phere of crime and gave him frequent contacts with the normal. Roberts was fortunate in having an opportunity to practice in both forums. distics attorney 'of Philadeiphis Gouhe af y of lelphia Coun- ty, whose function is that of public prosecutor. Roberts was assigned the trial of the more important kind of He had upon him the marks of the man of the hour. It would have been the senior Senator unpardonable if to | from Pennsylvi ‘who had meu advise the President of his availability. Mr. Coolidge listened attentively to & brief statement by the Senator of the qualifications of a man the President had never seen. It was then suggested that, if the President was inclined to consider the name, it would be courte- ous and proper for the Senator to in- form Senator Walsh of Montana of the posture of events, as Senator Walsh had offered the resolution under which the investigation was taking place. With the President’s approval this was done. At an interview that quickly followed, the President expressed a wish to see Roberts, who was thereupon summoned from Philadelphia by telephone. An appointment was made for him to call upon the President at the executive offices. The appointment was kept. What inquiries tI President may have made about Roberts in the interval, I do not know. ‘The interview was a brief one. At the end of it the participants were standing. Roberts is big and strong. He has a smile that makes you like him and a look in the eye that makes you respect him. The President looked him over as one might scrutinize a racehorse. The eye of the executive traveled upward from the feet to face, then down again, then up again. There was & moment's silence. Then, turning to the introducer, the President MORNING, JUNE 8, uly | tion above 1930. Two Poles Are Compared Rear Admiral Byrd Tells of Varying Conditions in Arctic and Antarctic After Exploring Both would be folly. Even the whalers, those experienced Norwegians who go South year after year, bring out their ships at times battered and broken and often barely escape disaster. In the Arctic there is much life, from musk ox, the northernmost animal, to the Arctic bear and fox, birds, seals and fish. In many places, such as Etah, the northernmost Eskimo village, ani- mal life is so abundant that the Eskimo does not have a very difficult time sus- taining life. A Desolate Region. ‘There is no life in the Antarctic ex- cept on its shores, and most of it is there only in the Summer months. ‘This life is limited entirely to seals, birds and the teeming life of the water, ranging from the invisible diatom, which stains the ice yellow, to the schools of whales. But in the interior there is no life at all, nothing but snow and ice, except when occasionally in the Summer months a bird is found wandering on some mysterious errand of its own far in from the sea. Here is a yast area as big as the United States and Mexico combined that has never sustained a human race, as far as we_know. One who flies over either of these desolate regions must bear these dif- ferences in mind. They govern the conditions of his flight and determine (Continued on Fourth Page.) Justice “I don't see any reason why I shouldn’t appoint this man.” It was an utterance, both in tone and manner, characteristic of Mr. Coolidge. It conveyed no assurance of what the final executive action might be, but it gave a basis for hope. A day or two later, however, the question was settled. I happened to be presiding in the Sen- ate when the message from the White House was received. It was opened at the desk and was found to contain the name of Owen J. Roberts. On February 18, 1924, the Senate confirmed the appointment by a vote of 68 to 8. There were 20 absentees, but 10 of these, it was announced by colleagues, would have voted aye if they had been present. From my intimate knowledge of the personnel of the Sen- ate at that time I consider it safe to say that if all 96 Senators had been present many more than 80 of them would have cast affirmative votes. Of course, in the brief interval beé- tween nomination and confirmation there had been opposition to overcome. The law firm of which Roberts was senfor member had some years before represented a banking house which had joined in the underwriting of the se- curities of some oil companies. Per- haps this remote relation to the sus- pected industry might have contami- nated Roberts’ and sapped his vigor. Calm reflection, however, satisfled Sen- ators that this was an unreal danger. But there was another. Roberts had made, & year previously, a speech at a dinner in New York and was charged with having there given vent to hetes dox opinions. A newspaper report sug- gested that he had criticized the Senate committee which was investigating the oll transactions and that he had even ridiculed Senate investigations in gen- eral. Roberts, when confronted’ with this charge, denied that he had made the statements attributed to him, but said with the greatest frankness that he is an individualist by temperament and training; that he is opposed to the so- clalization of industry and to Govern- ment control of business; that he re- gards the Federal Government as hav- ing, on occasion, abused its wholesome powers of regulation, and that these views had been expressed in the speech. This simple and direct explanation de- natured the newspaper account of the New York speech, which thus came to be regarded by most Senators as alto- gether harmless. But did Mr. Roberts know anything about land law, the special field of law which concerns the public lands of the United States and the intricacies of practice in the Land Office? This ques- tion was raised in the committee before which Roberts appeared for scrutiny and interrogation. No, he knew noth- ing about it; but he was sure that with the help of Land Office experts he could in half an hour learn all that it ‘was necessary for him to know in order to begin an intelligent study of the ofl cases. The objection was not further pressed. The committee was favorably impressed and the Senate took the ac- Teamed Well With Pomerene. Pomerene and Roberts plunged at once into the work of study and prepa- ration. They made a good team. Both were good lawyers. One had had valu- able training in Government and in public affairs; the other had had a wider experience in keenly contested litigation. Throughout the years of as- sociation that followed these two, Who the | were strangers at the outset, worked ther happily and effectively as col- ;‘:“:u- and friends. Their functions Mr fun glm mfimu&utm fash- « on Fourth Page.). BY GASTON NERVAL. OR the first time in history a South American President-elect is actually living and working in the United States. Mr. Enrique Olaya Herrera, recently elected Chief Executive of Colombia, is winding up his work as Minister to the United States before going down to his coun- try to take the reins of government in August. And the latter part of this month the newly elected President of the largest South American nation, Dr. Julio Prestes of Brazil, will sail from his country en route to Washington, where he is expected about the middle of June. Thus South America is continuing the series of good will visits of presidents- | elect, of which Mr. Hoover's trip of a year and a half ago was the first ever | made by a newly elected Chief Executive |of the United States. Within the past 10 years presidents-clect of Brazil, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Mex- ico. Cuba and Haiti have visited Wash- ington. Only at the end of last year the President-elect of Mexico, Dr. Pas- cual Ortiz Rubio, paid a visit to Presi- dent Hoover, and was royally enter- tained and honored in official and dip- lomatic circles. Soon after he took office in Mexico City, in a typically Mexican ceremony, made spectacular by a crim- inal attempt upon his life, but he is now happily piloting the destinies of that picturésque and restless Latin re- public. Has Proved Popular Here. To Senor Olaya goes, however, the honor of being the first South American president-elect to work in Washington. for after having won the presidential election in his country he has returned to resume his duties as Colombian Min- ister, & post in which, during the last eight years, his unusual ability and per- sonal charp have won him a prominent place in the diplomatic and official cir- cles of Washington. Last January, while engaged in his diplomatic work here, Senor Olaya was urgently called upon by his political friends at home to head a “National Coalition” ticket for the presidential elections which were to take place the following month, He had already re- fused a like invitation from his own party, the Liberals, but this being an offer from a combination of parties, rather a national nomination than a party one, the Colombian Minister could not well say “I do not choose to run.” He had to run, and he did it almost literally. for he had but a few days to make the journey to Colombia, organize his campaign, make addresses all over the country—and win the election. In record-breaking time, with the airplane playing & conspicuous part, Senor Olaya did all this and something more—he ob- tained the largest plurality of votes ever known in & Colombian presidential election. If to all this we add the fact that Senor Olaya was running against the candidate of the party in power—a hopeless contest in most Latin-Ameri- can countries—and that this party, the Conservatives, had been in power for 45 consecutive years, it would seem proof that certain men on destined to rule. Two Significant Aspects. The election of Senor Enrique Olaya Herrera to the presidency of Colombia has to the outside observer great sig- [nificance in two aspects—one relating [to the political progress of that young Latin American republic, and the other to its influence upon the political and economic relations of the United States with the nations south of the Rio Grande. Let us consider first the domestic political aspect. Since 1886—for 44 years—the Conservative party had been in power without interruption. During this long period, and with the active support of the church, which has until now played a prominent part in Colom- bian politics, the Conservatives had in- trenched themselves firmly in the gov- ernment, and little importance was given Liberal or opposition candidates who sought to change the established order. Three civil wars—in 1885, 1895 and 1902—had failed to wrest the gov- ernment from the control of the Con- servative party. The losses and injuries to the nation in these three wars have been estimated at 150,000 lives, 1,000, 000,000 Colombian pesos, considerable national territory, and a general set- back of 50 years in the material and civic progress of the country. Under these conditions, when the presidential elections were approaching, public attention was centered exclu- sively on the two Conservative candi- dates—by this time the party was split —for it was assumed that only a Con- servative could possibly succeed to the presidential chair. Besides, both the Conservative candidates were men of highest reputation—one the outstanding Colombian poet, Guillermo Valencia, & statesman, political leader and scholar of continental fame, and the other a military and political leader of great power and influence, Gen. Vasquez Cobo. Little importance, therefore, was attributed to the invitation of the Lib- erals to Senor Olaya to become their nominee, and but little more attention was paid to the Colombian minister's acceptance of the candidacy on a Na- tional Coalition ticket which had tc face the power of almost half a century of traditional Conservative rule. First Liberal in 45 Years. However, that which three civil wars had been powerless to obtain Senor Olaya achieved in a peaceful and democratic way. The “national candidate,” as he was called from the time of his return to ta, the Colombian capital, ob-. tained an electoral plurality larger than that of any other candidate in the his- tory of the country, and for the first time in 45 years the next Colombian president will be a Liberal. But what is still more significant and of more important bearing on Colom- bian political life is the sober, calm and democratic acceptance of this fact by the Conservatives. This is the real lesson of Olaya’s election in Colombia, and one which will do much for the political prestige of Latin America in the rest of the world. Until recent years Latin America’s connotation was domesti political turmoil. An electoral defeat in those nations meant a conse- quent armed uprising, the unsuccessful candidate usually leading a new revolu- tion. And, of course, those in power were accustomed to selecting their suc- cessors, approving or rejecting them after election as they pleased. ‘This time, however, Colombia has given the world a lesson in democratic practice which reveals a remarkable change in the political attitude of the nation. After election, which went. against the government party, the way in which the Conservatives ac- cepted defeat and the way public opin- ion in general became reconciled to this| surprising state of affairs and volun- teered to help in the establishment of the new and non-partisan regime will stand from now on as Colombia’s testi- mony of political maturity. Politically speaking, we may now say that the Re- NEW COLOMBIA LEADER BREAKS MANY PRECEDENTS Election of Enrique Olaya Herrara to Presidency Said to Have Great Significance. | Mr. Irigoyen won an overwhelming ma- | jority in presidential elections and was | inaugurated without the slightest show | of opposition from the defeated party |in power. Other nations of the Amer- |icas had also shown the same public- | spirited patriotism, notably Honduras, where not long ago the government party was defeated and the new regime | inaugurated in peace and good order. | Now Colombia has come to the front |and is doing her part for the prestige of Latin America. Is Latin America finally and definitely taking a trend to- Jard true democracy? only time will ell. Important International Aspect. Prom an international point of view | Benor Olaya's election to the presidency | of Colombia also has an important sig- | nificance. In recent years suspicion and | lack of sympathy toward Uncle Sam has been felt in certain Colombian quar- ters, a movement doubtless encouraged by enemies of this country or by those interested in hampering the commercial | relations of the two nations. For this purpose they had availed themselves of certain differences existing between the Colombian government and American oil interests and raised their favorite war cry of “American imperialism.” And although the relations between the two countries have never ceased to be normally cordial, the radical elements of Colombia, the Socialists and the “left wing,” had been boasting lately of the success of their mischievous propa- ganda to such an extent that some peo- ple were wondering whether Colombia was not really turning her back on Uncle Sam. And now what happens? The man who has always been the most earnest advocate of the United States in Co- lombia is elected - President—a man whose name has been closely associ- ated with the United States in the minds of his countrymen, whose volce had been heard a thousand times ifi defense of the United States, and whose pen had written a thousand pages on the same cause; a man who advocated friendship, trust and good will toward the “great nation of the North” in his own political platform; a man who, after living eight years as the Minister of his country among the Americans, has learned to understand and to like them, as do most Latin Americans when they really know them; a man, in short, who is the outstanding repre- sentative, the leader, the typical ex- | ponent of that tendency toward trust, good will and co-operation with the United States. The overwhelming majority by which Senor Olaya was elected clearly shows that public opinion in Colombia is friendly to the United States, toward | American capital and American enter- | prise. No matter what the agitators may say, the Colombian people have | just proved themselves to be on the | right side by supporting the man with the right cause. All this will, of gr B Save e & tremely favorable L#eet on Colombi international position, and therefore # beneficial effect on Colombian credit are' It will be easier now for Colombia t& contract the loans she needs to carry on her public works problem and to better her financial standing, for she will have the confidence and co-opera- tion of American bankers. And all Colombians know what this really means to them. Enrique Olaya Herrera, the next President of Colombia, *has all the quali~ ties requisite for success—youth, cour- age, eloquence, faith. Only 20 years ago he was leading university mutinies against the dictatorship in his country, His marvelous addresses and inspired eloquence have won him first place among Colombian orators. One South | American writer said of him: “He has begn able, like Orpheus, to tame wild | beasts with the music of his words and | to make the mobs that came to stone him carry him home on their | shoulders.” Calmed Colombian Congress. ‘When the boundary controversy be- tween Colombia and Peru became acute, many years ago, with the clash of mili- tary forces at La Pedrera, public senti- ment was deeply aroused in Colombia and every man on the street was de- manding war against Peru. Even pri- | vate organizations aided in the drive |for arms and men, and the Congress itself was beginning to feel the bellicose sentiments of the people. Olaya Her- rera, then foreign minister, was called to explain the situation to the members of Congress. The atmosphere of Con- gress was seething; highly inflammatory | speeches had just been made from ail | sectors of the House; the government | was being charged with timidity and “lack of ability to safeguard the na- tional honor.” Olaya knew, however, that the country was unprepared, and that a war would be disastrous for Colombia. He rose to his feet, and in steely accents pronounced a magnifi- cent address, like those heard in the Roman Senate of many centuries ago, closing it with the classic Greek phrase, “The viands of vengeance must be eaten cold.” His words brought calm- ness, serenity and public confidence, and the Colombian Minister in Lima was able to secure soon after a favorable solution of the incident with the Peru- vian government. Later on, through | wise diplomatic negotiations, Colombia | obtained certain territorial concessions | from Peru which she never would have | secured by war. ‘The President-elect of Colombia is an optimist as to the benefits of peace. He has unlimited confidence in the poten- tialities of his country and sincerely believes in the prominent role Colom- bia is going to play in the political and intellectual progress of Latin America. Olaya has always been a statesman rather than a politiclan. He was never aroused by the enthusiasm, the pas- slons or the errors of the moment. On accepting his nomination he clearly de- fined the difference between a politician and a statesman. “The one,” he said, “only thinks of the next election; the other of the next generation.” Nothing gives a better idea of his political philosophy than the following words from one of his electoral ad- dresses: “I want to form a government or- ganized without other promises and ob- ligations than those with the nation, one for which is banned absolutely the fatal doctrine that to the victors belong the spoils, and in which the first mag- istrate, free, without any obligation whatever to his supporters, is relieved from that dangerous situation which frequently makes elected candidal veritable slaves of their friends.” The President-elect is firmly con- vinced that the future of Colombia de- pends on the economic co-~eparaion with foreign capital. Speekizg of the manner in which this 3Jo-dperation should be carried on, he told the writer: “The policy 1 have laid down is that of the open door—that is, that capital coming in should submit to the laws of the country, and that there it shall find protection under those laws, authorities who respect it and favorable conditions public of Colombia has “come of age.” ‘The Argentines had already given ex- amples of political stability democratic spirly two years and of #go, when| in general, so that the interests of the country and its citizens may go forward her in ony in the work of (Qyntinued on Fourth Page),