Evening Star Newspaper, September 7, 1930, Page 29

Part 2—8 Pages EDITORIAL SECTION he Sundwy St WASHINGTON, SEPTEMBER 17, 1930. D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, CONTROL OF HOUSE IS HELD PRINCIPAL EL Precedent Points to ECTION ISSUE Presidential Victory in 1932 if Democrats Should Win Whip Hand. BY MARK SULLIVAN. HE principal question in this campaign is whether the Demo- crats will win control of the House of Representatives. That s, whether the Democrats | in the November election will win 54 | seats (at least) away from the Repub- | lcans, (The present House, not count- ing vacancies, is 270 Republicans, 165 | Democrats.) To win 54 seats is the Democratic objective. That way of putting it is in the main correct. Some Democratic leaders would prefer not to win 54 seats and not to win control of the House. In their lesser wish they are perfectly sincere and are thinking of the good of the party as they see it. See Possibility of Errors. Their wishes for not winning quite #0 much as a majority of the House are two. In the first place they fear what their party in the House might do if it ¢hould have a majority. They think it might “run wild.” They think it might do things which would alienate a of the public—and might thereby pair, instead of further, the chance of the Democrats winning the presi- dential election of 1832. The Demo- crats, if they should win a majority, ‘would have responsibility—and some of the Democratic leaders are apprehen- sive about what their rank and file might do if it had the power and the responsibility that goes with majority. In the same spirit this group of Dem- ocratic leaders think their party would be much better off if they should win, not a majority of the House, but a num- ber just short of a majority. In that happy result the Democrats would be in the best possible position to harass the blicans. The Republicans would have the majority—and would thereby be responsible before the country. But the Democrats would be o near a m jorlt’g as to be able to harass the Re- publicans carrying out their re- sponsibility. Balance of Power Sought. ‘The Democrats, if they had, =ay, within 20 of a majority, would be able to find am the Republicans about 10 who be insurgent Republi- cans. With 10 such the Democrats could overcome a Republican majority of 20. The situation would then be in the House the same as it is in the Sen- ate. It would be a nominal Repub- lican majority, having responsibility be- fore the country because it seems to have a majority—but an actual ma- Jority composed of Democrats and in- Surgent Republicans—an actual ma- Jority which would make it difficult for the nominal Republican majority to carry on. The result would be, in the eyes of the country, Republican inabil- ity to carry out a legislative and apparent ineptness of Rem 1y outcoms of the col these leaders feel, would make the Re- publicans seem most ineffective and which, therefore, would most facilitate Democratic advantage in the den- tial election of 1932. (It is the- presi- dential election of 1932 that is, quite naturally, the ultimate objective of the Democrats.) Want to Win All Possible. ‘The Democrats, however, cannot go into this year's campaign with any def- their objective. They must conduct the campaign 80 as to win the largest pos- sible number of seats, 5o as to win every possible seat. The shrewdest Demo- cratic leaders may hope their total winnings will be less than a majority— but they must so conduct the campaign as to try to take every possible trick. Consequently we must look upon the Democratic objective as being to win a majority of the House for the sake of the omen it would be, the expectation it would set up for the 1932 presidential el.mlplln that is the true and final ob- ve. According to precedent for a long time, the winning by the Democrats of 8 majority of the House in would oe followed by their winning the ghrgaldemw in 1932. The theory is that election of a majority of the House s the beginning of a new tide and that a‘e new tide at its height elects a Pres. ent. Precedent Began in 1894, ‘This deduction from precedent may | be stated thus: Whenever, in the mid- dle of a presidential term (as the pres- ent year) the party out of power wins & majorijy of the House of Represent- etives it follows in the ensuing presi- dential year (in the present case 1932) fhat the party out of power elects its didate for President and becomes e party in power. The precedents, to take those of the Jst 40 years, began with 1894. In that | year the Democrats were in power with | Cleveland in the White House: the Re- | publicans won the 1894 congressional | lections—and in 1896 won the presi- lential election with McKinley. ‘The next example of this set of con- litions arose in 1910. In 1910 the Re- bublicans were in power with Taft in the White House. In 1910 the Demo- trats won a majority of the House— and in 1912 they elected their presiden- 4al candidate, Woodrow Wilson. ‘The third and most recent example decurred in 1918. In 1918 the Demo- | arats were in power with Wilson in the White House. In that year the Repub- 4cans won control of the House—and $wo vears later, in 1920, they won the residency with Harding and have held ever since. In short, all the prece- | dents arising during 40 years point the | ame way. First Step for Presidency. In all those precedents the first step in the election of a President consisted | of electing a majority of the House two | years in advance. ‘The particular one of these prece- dents which the Democrats this year | look back to is the 1910 one. They cite | what they regard as an ominous psr-i alle] between the 1910 situation and | the present 1930 one. ‘The parallel does go some distance— Sut falls immensely short of going the whole distance. In 1910 the Repub- Heans kad Taft in the White House and had control of the House by a majority of 219 to 172. Up to this point the altel is good. In 1910 the Repub- cans had just completed a tariff re- vision; here again the parallel is good. In the 1910 congressional elections the Democrats won control of the House by 228 to 162—and this is the part of the parallel which the Democrats hope to accomplish this year. The remaining mn of the parallel, which they will pe to accomplish in 1932 ( they accomplish control of the House this November), would be the election of their candidate for President. This is the parallel as the Democrats see it and talk about it. But there are defects to the parallel—defects so many and etriking as to make it useless for of wflcflan. lect is that there was in life in 1910 a man _named Theodore velt. Because Roosevelt was liv- ing; because he had two years before retired from the presidency: because he was by far the most popular man in the Republican party or any party and becatise his followers wanted him back in the presidency—for those reasons mainly the Taft administration was unpopular. The Taft administration, in short, was bound to be unpopular. Taft never had a chance. The mere existence of Theodore Roosevelt de- prived him of a chance. Taft might have been the best President the coun- try has ever had, but under the condi- tions of 1910 a large part of the country would not have thought so. The fact that Roosevelt lived created a motive for hundreds of Roosevelt leaders in the Republican party and for millions of voters among the people to think and to say that the Taft administration was, as it would be expressed today, “all wet.” 1910 Tariff Unpopular. ‘The second defect in the parallel from which the Democrats build their hopes this year is that the tariff of 1910 was very unpopular. It is true the Democrats say the present tariff is unpopular. The extent to which the present tariff may be unpopular is a subject of dispute. The Democrats say it is, but Republican leaders as well as independent observers with good sources of information say it is not acutely unpopular. In any event, all that need be asserted here is that the tariff this year is certainly not as acutely un- popular as was the tariff in 1910. One reason for the greater unpopu- larity of the 1910 tariff was that there were large groups of Republican leaders and large masses of Republican voters who_instinctively wanted to make the tariff of 1910 unpopular. They wanted Roosevelt back in the White House and subconsciously they felt that one ‘way of getting him back was to regard the tariff as unpopular and to decry Taft as unpopular because he had signed and approved the tariff. It is a fact that Taft not only signed the tariff bill n‘ln:ht administration but in a rather inept way took personal responsi- bility for it and praised it. 1910 House Also Unliked. ‘The next defect in the parallel upon which some Democrats this year ardently erect their hopes is that the Republican House in 1910 was unpopu- lar. If was unpopular because of its leader @nd its spokesman and its symbol, “Uncle Joe” Cannon. “Cannon- ism” and the Cannon rules were as live as a political topic as the tariff itself. Cannon and the Cannon “czar- the campaign. defect in the parallel tween 1910 gnd 1930 comes back again to Roosevelt. Roosevelt wanted the Re- publican ation, tried to take it away from Taft, failed, and, upon fail- ing, set up a third party, the Progres- sives. It was that division of the Republicans that enabled the Demo- crats to win in 1912, It cannot be said with positiveness that the Democrats would not have won anyhow, but cer- tainly it was the division of the Re- flx‘byueuu that made their winning No Landslide to Democrats. To turn to the present cam as it stands upon its own hotwm,pr.‘h‘flm is that at this moment there is no Democratic landslide under way. There is no landslide of any sort. There is no Nation-wide tide under way. There is no one outstanding national issue. This campaign does not have the form of a Nation-wide campaign like a presidential one, This campaign con- sists of the aggregate of 435 local campaigns in 435 separate congression- (Not as many as 435, f in perhaps a hundred disf , some Democratic, some Republican, there is no_contest, or substantially none.) This year's camp: is essentially an aggregate of local and individual campaigns. The principal issue in one congressional district may be the sit- member’s v on the war veter- The principal issue in district may be the sit- ting member's vote on the tariff—not, as a rule, on the tariff as a whole, but on a specific item in the tariff in which the district happens to be interested. The issue in another neighboring dis- trict may be prohibition, due to the fact that a local candidate may have taken up one side or the other of pro- hibition and pushed it to the front, If a Republican candidate for Congress happens to lose in Massachusetts it will be, generally speaking, for a different reason from that which causes a Re- publican candidate to lose in Kentucky or Missouri. Prohibition Issue in Some. ‘The diffused character of the cam- paign is illustrated as much by prohi- bition as by any other issue. In dis- trict after district both candidates are dry; in a considerable number of dis- tricts both are wet. In only a compara- tively small number of districts do we find one candidate wet and the other dry. The net of which is that the present campaign for control of the House is not really that kind of campaign at all. It is the aggregate of more than 300 local campaigns, with the outcome to be determined by local issues, local condi- tions and local personalities. The net resultant of these 300 or so local cam- paigns—if anybody can guess it—will determine whether the next House will be Republican or Democratic. We all know that the Republicans will lose some seats. They are literally bound to lose some—because some of the seats they now hold came to them |as the result of abnormal conditions. The present House was elected in 1928, the same year as the presidential cam- paign between Mr. Hoover and Gov. Smith. In that campaign, due to the presidential aspect of it, certain con- gressional districts in States like Vir- ginia, North Carolina, Kentucky and elsewhere went Republican which had never, or practically never, gone Re- publican before. They are districts naturally Democratic and they will{ swing back to the Democrats this year as surely as States like Virginia have already swung back to their traditional Democratic anchorage. Certain to Lose Some. It is certain the Republicans will lose some seats for this reason. And it is impossible to find among the Demo- cratic seats any considerable number that the Democrats seem certainly des- tined to lose for any reason whatever. In short, the net resultant of this year’s getting back to_normal in politics is certain to cost Republicans a net loss of anywhere from 15 to 30 seats. But there are no conditions in d:?ht from which uce that the Republicans will lose the 54 seats which would cost them thelr majority. 4 ishop -dist Chu BY PAUL SCOTT MOWRER. ARIS.—Twenty-seven European nations, of which 23 will be rep- resented by their foreign min- isters, will meet in secret ses- sion in Geneva Monday and Tuesday to discuss the Briand project for a European union. On the same days the Council of the League of Na- tions will convene and on Wednesday the League's annual assembly opens. From the viewpoint of international relations, all these negotiations and whatever important conversations take place on the side will be considered as a single whole involving mainly Eu- rope’s present tension and the League's relation thereto. Consequently, it will be one of the most important reunions ever held at Geneva. Although the League's chief purpose is to prevent war, the present regime of armed peace in Europe, with its recur- rent suspicions, threats and alarms, is sufficient evidence that the nations for the present have serious doubts as to the Ten.gue‘! efficacy in this respect. Obviously if, because of the League and the Kellogg anti-war pact and the so- called power of world public opinion, the nations felt secure, they would not in- dulge in their present vast expenditures to insure their own defense. Three Groups of Powers. Prevalent doubts concerning the League are, first, can it prevent an out- break of hostilitles? Second, can it successfully designate an aggressor? And third, can it agree on how to re- press persistent aggression? Behind these doubts and taking divergent stands thereon in harmony with their alleged respective interests are, roughly speaking, three groups of powers: 1. Those which, with France and its allies, want to preserve the territorial status_quo. . Those which, with Germany and Italy, want territorial revision, 3. Those which, with Great Britain, are more or less neutral and think that they see a guaranty of their own security in the old political system known as the balance of power. The League's peace activities fall un- der three heads: 1. Those making for the prevention of war, summarized in the word “arbi- tration.” 2. Those providing for joint action against the aggressor in case prevention fails and summarized in the word “security.” 3. Disarmament. According to their alleged interests, the three groups place entirely different emphasis on these heads. The French group favors all sorts of arbi- ARISTIDE disarm until security is insured. The French group has no territorial claims against any one, is satisfied with the present frontiers and wants to preserve the present territorial distribution. ‘The German-Italian group is well armed, but feels itself still less strong than the French group, and hence places the urgency of disarmament ahead of either arbitration or security. ‘The chances of frontier revisions are felt to be slight as long as the French tration measures, but considers security even more important and refuses to Pension System N BY JOHN WALKER HARRINGTON. ANY past life's meridian find new freedom from anxiety in New York State’s old age security law, which went into | effect last Monday. In New | York City the department of public welfare, of which Frank L. Taylor is commissioner, received hundreds of ap- plications. Aiso the American Associa- tion for Old Age Security, of which Bi F. J. McConnell of the Metho- rch is president, opened a free information bureau for the guldance of those who would avail themselves of the statute. ‘This actual starting of the machinery for the relief of those who are without adequate support at three-score and ten within the borders of this common- wealth is the most important step ever taken in this movement in the United States. Although 12 States have laws for furnishing aid to the aged, only four are paying out money and these are small in population as compared with New York. Here is a new im- petus which is expected to reach Al\] parts of the country. It may soon bring the Nation in line with the prog- ress made in the care of the old which pu;:ucnlly every civilized land has made. Test to Come in Operation. So far the developments of the last week in New York City indicate that the law will reach thousands who really need the aid and comfort it offers. Here is a measure which has come up out of much tribulation. Even now there are rsons who believe it is far from per- fect, among them Gov. Roosevelt him- self, who signed the bill. Some of the most earnest advocates of it, such as Abraham Epstein, secre- tary of the American Association for Old Age Security, who has worked for 15 years as a leader of a column of forlorn hope, feel that the plan leaves something to be desired. Sweeping aside technicalities, some of which are so involved and obscure that only the ex- pert can even reduce them to words, the u;l‘xe test will come through actual oper- ation. What kind of persons will be bene- fited? In the answer to this question is the solution of a much-vexed social equation. The vital purpose of the law is to give self-respect and as much inde- pendence as possible to aged men and women who are physically able to live without institutional care. It is an ef- fort to do away as much as possible with the poorhouse and to permit its beneficiaries to retain places in the community life. ‘Will Preserve Homes. It would permit aged husbands and wives to continue to live together and not to be separated as they are in most institutions for the care of the indigent. In some cases the recipients of State help may be able to maintain homes of their own on a modest scale, or at least to board. Just as there has been a trend for years to do away with or- phan asylums for children as tending | to destroy individuality and to make young lives drab so this old age secu- rity plan makes for ucumfl and un- troubled days and personal liberty. ‘Those eligible under the law must be 70 years old and be unable to support themselves, wholly or in part, and have no_children or other persons able to sight is & There are no such conditions in at this time. It may be there greater quantity of underlying political discontent due to the state of business than is n&pe-um on the surface. Some shrewd observers, however, believe that 'l-,hyemvemocnu hn"v; hunbut::tmulv:l e long campaign of pul y ema- pating from Democratic headquarters which has emphasized depression and group is stronger and better armed than the revisionists, Father of the United States of Europe plan which will be discussed at the League of Nations conferences in Geneva. BRIAND, ‘The neutral group would like to see the two opposing continental groups ap- proximately equal in strength so that it would itself hold the balance of power, At the same time it is unwill- ing to commit itself in advance to use force against the aggressor in circum- stances now unforeseen. Great Britain, in particular, has made it clear that it will be unwilling to use force in de- fense of the league covenant unless it first knows that this course will not League Power Doubted European Nations After Period of Doubt and Suspicion Are Guessing as to Future cordingly this group places arbitration and disarmament, ngud of security. In all league discussions since 1920, the same preoccupations and conflicts have recurred under slightly varying forms. These conflicts are e along the same general lines this year. The principal subjects which, it is assumed, will be discussed either apart from or in connection with the agenda are the following: A European union. Treaty revisions. A new general arbitration act. Proposals for revision of the league covenant to harmonize it with the Kellogg Pact. Proposals for financial aid to States that are victims of aggression. ‘The status of minorities. Disarmament. Viewpoints Foreseen. On each topic the points of view of the foregoing groups already can be approximately foreseen. A European Union.—This would make for stability, and hence the French up supports it. It would perhaps amper agitation for treaty revision and it would tend to unite instead of keeping Europe divided into two blocks under the theory of the balance of power. Hence both the revisionists and neutral groups either oppose it or do it a mere semblance of lip service. How- ever it the status quo and revisionist groups were ever to agree on a union, the neutral group would doubtless then favor it. Treaty Revision.—This will doubtless be discussed informally between France and Italy and will perhaps be raised officially by Germany under article 19 of the League covenant. The status quo group will oppose .rivision. The neutral group would be willing to see the status quo group make concesisons to the revisionist group in the interest of peace, but it would not itself be will- ing to make stmilar concessions, so far as is now known. Germany, in its reply to the French memorandum on a European union, implied that it would be ready to effect such a union only provided the French group first agrees to treaty revisions. The precise German policy on this point will doubtless be decided after the German elections, September 14. New general arbitration act—This is a series of proposals tending to tighten the League system for prevent- ing war by action before a conflict oc- curs or when hostilities have been suc- cessfully interrupted by League inter- vention. All the groups theoretically approve of this act, but some members of the neutral and revisionist groups tend to make its adoption contingent on _disarmament, Proposals for harmonizing the League lead it into a conflict over neutral rights with the United States. Ac- covenant and the Kellogg pact—These (Continued on Fourth Page.) Old Freed From Anxiety in Effect in New York Proves Boon to Elderly Dependent Folk support them or responsible for their care. All applicants must be citizens of the United States, residents of the State of New York for 10 years and of | the city for 1 year immediately preced- ing the date of their applications. They shall not have made any assignment of property in order to qualify for relief. References to two or three persons must also be given. It must be stated that the applicant is or is not an in- mate of an institution. If he believes that he does not need institutional care he can ask to be taken from an asylum or county house, so that he may live elsewhere on the allowance pro- | vided by commonwealth funds. 50 Per Cent Without Kin. ‘The great majorit; of those who have applied both at the Department of Pub- | lic Welfare and the bureau of the | Americ Association for Old" Age Se- curity are not and have not been in charitable institutions. When the law is in full operation and the actual pa; ment of money begins on January 1, 1931, it is likely that the applications from inmates of poor houses and houses will increase. ‘Those who are appearing now are more or less prisoners of hope. Full 50 per cent seem to have no children or relatives living; many have outlived those of their da d generation. Me- chanics predominate, although there are many of the professional and “white collar” classes and a fairly large pro- portion of those who have been suc- cessful business men. As noted by Commissioner Taylor, the applicants, as a whole, bear in their faces the record of earnest and self- | respecting lives and many even are se- rene in expression. The vagrant class tried to associate the Republican Pres- ident with blame for it. 1s practi absent. Although some show signs of senility, the majority of alms | Evidently dissipation or improvidence the applicants are in fairly good physi- cal condition. They are able to come in person and tell their stories, and a great number make out their applications in clear and firm handwriting. With a few ex- ceptions, they answer the questions put to them with intelligence and precision. Naturally, those who were invalids or physically incapacited would be in in- stitutions and not within the scope of the new law. ° As a rule, the visitors to the bureaus are neatly dressed and scrupulously clean. Some are in the garments of decades ago, especially the women, but even their shiny and almost thread- bare clothes evidence their effort to keep up appearances. Clean linen and garments which show recent pressing are indices of the character of these | men and women of the sunset, who see | before them days of less careworn liv-| ing. gl'hzh' manner and their appearance seem to bear out the accounts they give of the ways in which they came to adversity in their declining vears. have not been factors to which the state of the great majority can be traced. Many had laid aside, as they thought, enough money to support themselves in their old age, but had lost it through bad investments. Many Lost Savings. Among the applicants were some who believed all to much in what their friends or supersalesmen had told them about securities which had - vided no security for them. Others seen their savings swept away through p;'.yltln't for !:ynnchm‘;“fiun:e ';nd ‘hos- i ees, un accept charity. Men who had recovered from to work and the funds kept dwindling. “The trouble with me,” remarked a woman of 92, “is that I've lived“too long—much longer than I had esti- mated 1 would—and now I haven't anything much. I could get along with & little help, though, and I can take care of myself. Don't want to be a care to anybody—can cook my own meals and dress myself.” Economic and industrial changes wrought havoc with some of the men who formerly were well to do or pros- perous. Changes in fashions, or in the ublic taste, often make the difference ween success and failure. One sep- tuagenarian had some of his present , because he had not been able to recover from the decline in the trade in_ostrich plumes. He had once been a large importer of such feathers. His business gradually dwindled and he was not able to get his capital out of it or to re-establish himself in a new line. Lose by Indorsing Notes. It was not uncommon to find appli- cants who had been overwhelmed by making good on notes they had in- dorsed through desire to help a friend. One lost $60,000 by such kindness. The fact that all the rules of business suc- cess forbid going on the paper of other persons did not deter him. “It is a startling commentary on modern civilization,” said Mr. Epstein, “to note how many applicants have lost by lending the helpful hand to others in trouble. It seems to me that few have wasted their money when they had it, but that many lost out through their desire to serve others or to help their fellow men who were in deep trouble. In many instances they erred in_judgment and found ingratitude.” ‘That rule which pervades many busi- ness houses which discriminate against employing men of advanced or even mature years, leaves its trail over the application blanks. Inasmuch as many concerns force out employes who have passed their fortieth year, it is to be expetced that jobs for oldsters of 70 are not plentiful. Some Able to Earn Money. Among the applicants are men who once held responsible positions but have been gradually edged into poverty. Some earn a little money as watchmen or office work of the errand-boy type. Among the applicants are many who are unable to get enough steady em- loyment even in the lowest-paid posi- ions to keep themselves from penury. ‘The stage was represent on the rolls. One woman of 80, who said she had been & popular actress in her day, told how she had reached the end of her usefulness in minor clerical work such as addressing envelopes: She thought she might “come back” in old woman character parts if she had a chance. It was suggested to her that the Actors’ Fund, meanwhile, might be able to do something for her between fmwt and the 1st of next January at enst. Her case reminded Mr. Epstein of that of Aida Sidonia, a danseuse, who in her prime had been starred in Covent Garden, London. She had been for nine years in charge of the ballet for that Britisch home of the opera. She was reduced to the necessity of doing the work of a chambermaid, although then 76 years old. The State of Wis- mm‘ ll:z has since provided an allowance for her. 15,000 Likely to Benefit Here. Just how many persons will eventu- ally come under the old-age security law in this city is now only a matter of speculation. There are full 150,000 persons more than 70 years old in the metropolis of whom it is estimated 15,000 may eventually come under the care of the State and city. In the me- troj f making up the list severe illness were unable to get back WORLD WATCHES BRIAND AND BATTLE AT GENEVA Future Peace or War Is Believed to Be Hanging in Balance at League Assembly Tomorrow. BY FRANK H. SIMONDS. HE annual Assembly of the League of Nations, which holds its first important session tomorrow, is beyond question the most in- teresting since 1926, the year of the admission of Germany. A more exact parallel, however, may be found perhaps in the Assembly of 1924, the first in which the prime ministers of Britain and France were present. Nineteen twenty-four was the year which saw the beginning of that period of pacification and adjustment which lasted with certain hesitations until the opening of the present year, when the second conference at The Hague finally disposed of the Young plan and with it of the problem of reparations. Con- sequent upon this settlement, too, was the evacuation of the Rhineland in June, which for all practical purposes wound up the post-war era. Still Under Shadow of Ruhr. When MacDonald and Herriot met in Geneva in 1924 Europe was still under the shadow of the occupation of the Ruhr and paralyzed by the long protracted duel between France and Britain, which had ended in general European disaster. At this meeting of the League the bases were laid for the whole process of reconciliation which has now terminated. Then, Europe, on the edge of complete ruin, changed both the courses and the crews of the various ships of state. Today the situation, if less acute, is hardly less disturbing. The London Naval Conference, whatever its result in respect to Anglo-American relations, certainly resulted in the exacerbation of Franco-Italian feelings. Since that time there have been a long series of incidents, which have resulted in. the creation of two armed camps on either side of the Alps from Savoy to Nice. Germans Demand Revision. Nor is the situation entirely different on the Rhine. The French troops have retired behind the frontier which sepa- rated France from the Germans from 1815 until 1871 and was restored at the Paris peace conference. But this lib- eration of occupied Germany, far from has resulted in an ex- affecting not merely the Polish frontier, but also the Belgian. TInevitably this German demand has aroused anxiety all over Europe and cularly in Paris and Warsaw. Briand's long campaign for European co-operation, which in its latest phase is somewhat grandiloquently described as a plan for a United States ‘of Europe, has been sidetracked everywhere, but most disastrously in his home country, and Europe is talking not about fed- eration but of feuds, which extend from Wilna to Lake Prespa. Deprived of British Ald. ‘Will the Assembly of the League of Nations arrest this omydmtq::— f 50l A - European A uoe which is being asked with a good deal of interest all over the old continent. But the real explanation of the absence of any dominating optimism must be_disclosed in the fact that at much to allay present European malaise is thus rather slight. The League re- mains fatally handicapped by the fact that the real peril to European peace is outside its control. The demand certain states (the losers of the war) for a revision of peace treaties and of exist- ing frontiers and the determination of other states (the victors) to retain their present limits at all costs aul closes the door to League nction. Drift Cannot Continue. On the other hand, it is manifest that European statesmanship cannot pere mit the present disquieting drift to con= tinue indefinitely without confessing bankruptcy and courting casatrophe. Sooner or later if co-operation is not achieved in some fairly definite fashion, division into rival alliances such as ex- isted before 1914 is enescapable. The states dissatisfied with the existing order and those content sre bound to fuse in opposing camps (in fact, the satisfied powers already have joined in a series of alliances) and then a new war will be a daily possibility. ‘Today there are about 125,000,000 French, Poles, Czechs, Jugoslavs, Ru- manians and Belgians, who are satis- fled with their present frontiers, but feel that they must guard them because of the expressed purpose of an almost equal number of Germans, Hungarians, Bulgarians, Lithuanians and even Ital- jans, who demand revision as an antecedent condition to assured and complete adjustment. So far the defeated powers, having been forcibly disarmed and in Germany's case also occupled by foreign armies, have been unable to combine of even to act sepa- rately, and without an ally Italy been powerless. X Returning to Normal. But Europe is getting k to normal. Germany is now free an prevent the Germans and their as- sociates of the war from In.l.nlnl the Italians, !K"ill}:y choose, 'g' o;mfim‘m system o nees gravely chal to Prance and perhaps surpassing it in ‘manpower, if Russia is brought into the combination. And it is no secret that Ttaly has made suggestions at Berlin and that certain Gen'n?l‘ have re- proached their government for turning 8 cold shoulder to Fascist invitation. At Geneva, then, Europe manife will appear at the cross-roads. t would be inexact to assert that any decisive turn will be taken at this Atuemhlyoor ":nde:g during l:hi: present year. On the other hand, at_least true that the unmistakabl drift of Europe toward the old order, or Geneva Briand will be deprived of any | the powerful British aid or support for his great project. Britain does not advo- cate European federation for the simple reason that it cannot participate in such a union because of its dominions, and cannot stay out without compromising its European situation. And Briand, unsupported by Mn;Dom]g and m bitterly opposed at home by powe factions, indeed by Poincare himself, is not likely to get far, British Proposal Given. In an effort to counterbalance the unfortunate effect of its attitude in the matter of European union Britain is likely to make its play upon the pro- posal for “all-in” arbitration. But although France is perfectly willing to go as far or even farther than Britain in the matter of agreeing to submit all disputes to court decision, she is not likely to regard this as a substitute for the Briand proposal, which envisages mutual guarantees of existing frontiers. The possibility that Geneva will do or hoped tha solid guarantee of supply & tranquilli ‘Whole World Watches. In this ntmnmhere the Assembly meets again wit '.bfi whole 'Ildm watchi closely. An once Brhmlin:eems bxunl;l‘:obl: nfl'\.ix outstand- figure, as he 50_many :‘ue sessions before. But today Briand stands alone. His great associates of Locarno have vanished. Stresemann is dead, and Austen Chamberlain has been repudiated by his fellow countrymen. et gromiig. Thus. 1t Toay unmistakably grumbling. Thus turn out that he is fighting his final battle. Indeed, the episode of Cannes may be repeated, and with his proposals of European co-operation still incom- plete he may go out as he did in 1922, when Poincare upset the Briand min- istry and cleared the road for the Ruhr. 1930.) (Copyright. Britain Challenges G ermany’s Supremacy In Realm of Aeronautics and Dyestuffs ONDON.—In the two fields of industrial activity in which Ger- many has long claimed world supremacy, Britain is now not only challenging, but actually very successfully competing with the Reich. The battle of scientist and salesman in the two nations is going on in the realms of aeronautics and dyestuffs. Although trade agreements have been made or are in pros- pect between the aerial and chemical combines of the two nations, the re- suits of airship research in the two countries will in the future be joint property, it is understood here. the task {878 charge ‘of ‘Thira Depity Comms- 1B ey (mxnn-d on Page.) ‘The triumphs of British airships cul- minated in the recent flight of the R-100 to Canada. The achievement of British designers is all the more remarkable when it is borne in mind that the dirigible as it is known today was first evolved by the Count_Zeppelin. No less an authority han Dr. Hugo Eckener, skipper of the Graf Zeppelin on its transatlantic voy- ages and round-the-world trips, is said to have placed the stamp of superiority on British craft, at the same time ex- }“T‘ his dissatisfaction with various eatures of his own ship. Eckener Visits Cardington. Eckener has already visited the Brit- ish airship works at Cardington, Bed- fordshire, where he the standardization of design based on British machines, it is understood here. Other important questions were then discussed on the exchange of technical and research discoveries and the avoid- ance of competition between the two coll:let!rlel in the establishment of air rou New zeppelins are being built in Ger- many, and the first will undergo a trial trip next Summer in preparation for regular transatlantic service. It will be found, experts here say, to em| im. pro’vdeg:.uu of British ships ap- te size. ‘The effect of g airship research work is already being felt as a stimulus to dirigible construction, it is reported. Lieut. Col. Richmond, designer of the R-101, and B. N. Wallis, who is largely responsible for the design of the R-100, Zeppelin works fo discuss. the " trends eppel ‘worl e trends of ‘:lnhlx:‘" eomtnlhc.tnloln eanwhile, a le again is being waged between Britain and Germany in all ents of science, research. Brif German, |1 almost _entirely upon Germany for her dyestuffs, and during the war ? .wpp;le& by t-hls &gpmm gr | now complet Teo! - | dustry, thanks to those inimitable tes) | rationalization and investigation. Britain Winning German Marketas. The productive uplcl%vlend b:‘mnu“fi of product not only Britain independence, but actually ha¥' put her on an equal basis, if not abov, Germany, many experts in this countrs declare, Britain has fast been drivirty Germany from some of her markets, despite cheaper labor in Ger- s demanded by"the vogue 15 clothen es deman e vogue Britaln leads the fum‘ . Britain, which was once completely dependent upon Germany for synthetic , NOW is developing brilliant success this ine of research. Drugs which are equal, if not superior, to German products, according to authorities here, are now going ahead to assail markets where Germans were long and undisputed masters. Industrial circles, however, are not ditions as looking icate planning a reorganization of e steel industry is uunnf‘much dis- cussion. Next week, if reported, financiers are meeting here to discuss §; Thassed “production and Lighe wages. luction ‘wages. The jected syndicate includes both Americans and_ Britishers. These men :}1:1 dlxcunw t.IJ:e !ncommcfim n!?.n retired .leerleln steel man, vhohgu been investigating conditions in this country. Vast Transformation Seen. 1t is understood the group is to sink a huge capital mmpi.n of a majority opinion favorable to the plan. A vast transformation scheme will be carried out in the larger steel works of this country, where units will be built up to include every branch of the steel industry. The plants pl