Evening Star Newspaper, February 1, 1931, Page 36

ROYAL PRINCES USED TO DRUM UP TRADE Trip of Wales to South America Expected to Help Rebuild England’s Lost Business, (Continued From First.Page) father’s fine, limpid, calm blue eyes. ‘His passion for action is not 5o strong- 1y developed. He is a good fellow, and, among people he knows, a gay com- panion. He will sit down at the pi- ano and play for the dancers at a house party. He can go to a revue or musical comedy—Wales and he are often at shows together—and bring back a tune and play it from m . He reads—which V not doe bal when the Russian t was on in | town he used to go night after night Wales was never there. He is no bal- let fan. He has an eye for color and ideas about decoration. He did not like his | suile of apartments at Buckingham Palace when he came back from | China, and had the whole old-fashioned | scheme changed for a modern one in bright and vivid colors, and he went Jooking for pictures for the walls and found some very good water colors, the nucleus of a collection. Wales, incidentally, for sketching once. Ast stateman, used to tell the was when he ‘was secretary of staie for the home department in 1895 and Queen Victoria was on the throne. He had | sent a state paper to the sovereign, It came back bearing her signature, but also ca: ng in the margin some m g0 mysterious that Asquith ded the |1 document around in-the cabinet room with raised eyebrov No one could think of an explans until it was recollected that the Queen was in the habit of having her little | great-grandson taken along to_the pal- ace, where one of the rooms had been turned into a nursery for him; and she would often go and play with him. It looked this time as if she had gone to play with the infant with the state pa- per in her hand and had left the paver a while. For the hieroglyphics it bore in addition to the signature of the sov- ereign. took the rough form of & curly tailed pig. Early Promise Unfulfilled. & That early promise, however. has not been fulfilled. The only time the Prince of Wales, grown to maturity, used a ncil for anything but necessary yriting was when he would abser mindedly sketch little diagrams and bdd shapes until such time as inspira- Hon came. Now he doesn’t even do Ihat, because he uses a portable type- wrter for all his essential personal correspondence and notes except his letters to his intimate friends. George has a common bond with Wales in fast motoring and flying. Wales has a brace of cars for his pcr- sonal use, a Rolls-Royce and a small roadster. Prince George acquired a big black Bentley Six, the car which has beaten everything in track and road events over the last two years in Eng- land and Europe. The Bentley has whipped wheel and a different “feel altogether from a Rolls One day Prince George borrowed his brother's Rolls and took a narrow drive entrance at speed. Not being used to the steering of the heavier car he piled it up on the gate post: Whersupon his irate elder brother grabbed “P. G.'s” Bentley and held it for use until his own came back from the repair shop. Some_time later Prince George sug- gested he would like to borrow the prince’s new private plane, a $3230 Gypsy-Moth with slotted wings (to prevent stalling) and crimson leather upholstering. “Oh, no, you don't,” said his brother, “I lent you my car and you crashed it. I'm taking no chances with my plane. You can have my old one, If you break your neck in that J shan't mind so much.” So George learned to fly in the old Blue Moth that Wales had cut his fiy- ing eyeteeth on. Squadron Leader Don, the prince’s official pilot—he has an- other private pilot, one Ficlden—took George in hand. ‘Wales Possesses Adaptability. ‘Wales, reorienting his life over thei last four years, has made himself the | best living example of the efficient mod- ern prince. Lean, brown, v, active, restless, adventurous, ging. en- | curing, he bimself is characteristic of the new age into which mankind e moving so fast that the entire world is disorganized by the specd and ranga of the great He possesses the most valuable quality of all—adapt- | ability. He made the crossing from the war to tha post-war world with marked suc- cess. Dividing his life mainly between his bachelor quarters in town and his hunting quart Mclton Mowbray, | | he seemed to be s:ttling down with his | chosen circle, his favorite pastimes, his | preferred haunts and pleasu his round of duti’s to a routine 3 would endurc until, ia due cour | became King. But it you Iool roots were ne ? knows better than most men manage himself. He is a good chologist—perhaps without knowing Having the modern hc of fat deep how to | | psy- | it. | , he | himself to pieces He had to think. Luckily, he had expert_athletes around him—men who | know better than most doctors how to| look after the human machine when it} Consequently, tod; is in its prime. find him taking his exercise in the thin- | nest things. No more heavy sweats. | He does not tear himself to pieces and he has more endurance, more vitality and better nerves than he b:fore. passion him—tremend too, separating whose company tomed at this sca He solved his problem deck He took himself out of the country when | the hunt! an. He went on the friend d become a hunting and camping trip in an: part of the empire land n (id the same thing. This year only the South Ame stopped | hin from a tufrd bi hunting | b in East Africa | ded the range of his pastimes | to include golf at which he used to be no good), by enlarging his bachelor d pl con- quarters at St. James’ Falace a ning a larger s life (his S0 tacts have always been very liberal), and by acqu! t last what he never had before- country house of his own on the edge of Windsor Park, not far from. the huge old castle which is one of the four royal scats. In the ark he has his own private aerodrome nto the house he has imported some | of the new modernistic furniture and decorations which are part of the pat- tern of the new age, and which, con- sidered advanced and unique today, tomorrow will have completely con- quered and ousted the furniture, decora- tions and architectural types which to- day we nccept as conventional because they have been with us for as long as we can remember. Meets Men Who Matter. And all the time he goes about more freely than any prince since Haroun al Raschid walked the streets of Bag- dad. More and more he finds ways of meeting privately and informally men who matter—matter not because of in- herited rank or high titles, but because ©f achievewciiwe, . He went about the job of improving |turned a net score of 77. j"mng. | the announcer couldn’t get a hearing. | | silence fell | Summingdale, the famous Surrey course within easy motoring_ distance of Lon- don, and finally bought Fort Belvidere, the country house aforesaid, within easy reach of Summingdale and half a dozen other golf courses. Every spare morn- ing or afternoon—odd hours, 0o, when he was in the country—would find him out on the course with a friend or one of his equerries, a foursome or one of the_pros. He would arrive, driving himself in his_rondster, play a round, and then, with half an hour to spare, would put down 40 or 50 balls and play them with brassy, driver and iron. Back to his, car then. A whistle and Cora and his other pet Calrn terrier would rush to meet him. He would putt a ball for them hes to chase, take it up, pat their jump into his car—the dogs after him-—-and drive home to lunch. His gelf handicap when he played some months back in the Household Brigade competition was 16, and he re- But he has improved on that. Jam:s Braid, known as “the doc,” because he can cure faults quicker than any other pro, has been ccaching him. He is bet.er than any of his brothers now, but only because he resolutely sct himself to practice and improve his game and has devoted time, energy and thought to it. He is not the ideal material of which first-class golf- ers are made. Ifis chief trouble is still impe uosity with his iron shots and ack of care In putting. He is nearer a 12-man than a 16 today. Detests Spats. His clothes have undergone a change —not his formal attire, but his play clothes. It may interest sartorially minded males to know that he likes ge patterned and vivid checks in the country, and that he wears red, blue or pink cashmere shirts on the golf links—a new fashion among England's young sporting set—but varies his lounge suits only in color. He sticks to double-breasted jackets and never wears any jewelry, uses plain cuff links and has a plain, flat gold watch secured around his wrist by a plain leather strap. He would as soon wear brown boots with a top hat as spats with any sort of garb. But if he remains conservative about cut and accessories he goes his own way in color. Indeed, until Wales opened up on his play clothes and took all the young men of his set with him, including Prince George (who would never have gone as far if his elder brother had not set the lead), American golf experts had been the most color- ful pieces of scenery that had struck British golf courses, But the memorable day the prince got out of his plane at Le Touguet Golf Club dressed for play in a vivid pink shirt under a golf suit of startling checks, a pull-over of powerful mixed hues, stockings in & pattern of strong red and white and magple shoes (strapped shoes in the American man- ner had been thought rather too ornate until this, and left largely to actor managers, matinee idols and smart brokers on holiday in the South)— when this happened the sports crowd acknowledged that golf was going to be a brighter game henceforward, and that any American golfer wanting to outdo the well dressed young English golfer would have to go some. But there is nothing dainty about his taste. He is strong in color, conserva- tive as to cut and line. The play coats | may be in violent checks or of a bright canary hue, but they have all the room he needs across the shoulders for the full-arm swing he has to have, and big pockets for pipes, tobacco and other incidentals. Has Steadied Noticeably. Golf and flying and a country place | near town have steadied Wales notice- ably. He has lost that rapid, nervous, fidgety movement of the hand that sometimes was almost embarrassing to | watch. He is more vital, his skin' bronzed, his eye clear and sharp, his| step buoyant and alert. He sleeps better—he used to sleep badly and often took A nighteap of whisky and warm milk to induce sleep. ' He has rounded out in character and gained in assurance. For all his relative youth ne is an accomplished diplomat. a statesman, a man of affairs and a man of the world. He may cause a municipal dignitary pain by going down to some municipal function in a lounge suit and derby hat instead of a claw- hammer coat and top hat and by smoking a ciearette during the solemn business of planting a commemorative | tree, but the crowd loves him ! He was in his usual ringside seat at a fight at Albert Hall one night when | vd upstairs was yelling because shield of a huge bank of film | lights obscured its view of the ring and | things were going wrong with the box- ! ‘The prince did not like it and took hold of the situation on his own account. He acked his host, Harrv| Preston, to send for the manager, and when he came acked him if he conldn't nnll the light bank higher. “Those | fellows up there have paid for their! seats like the rest of us down here,” he said. “I can’t stay here if you can't| do something about opening a view for | tinem.” The things view still was_opened. ‘Then. as sounded troublesome and the prince climbed into the ring and He, made a brief speech. In half a| minute he had gained the sympathy of | the crowd. In two minutes he had its heart. (“Good old prince!”) In a roar| of cheering he ducked under the roves | and regained his seat. The rest of the “ening was—except for proceedings in' Fie ring—ns quict as a mothers’ meet- " Arain he went to a south coast town in'the Fall to open a hospital wing and inspect A hoys' club, It was sunny in | town. but down by th» sea a rainstorm had blown over and the dense crowds itine to see the prince drive hy were cetting very wet, but they stuck it out. | ‘The prince was astonished when he got | out on the platform and saw the throngs under the driving rain. He had neither - greatcoat nor umbrella with him, Th> top of the car was up. the | windows closed—it didn’t look as if the crowds would get much of a view after | their wait Withstood Rain for Crowd's Sake. He asked the police captain to find him a raincoat qui ‘The only one handy was an old, stained trench’ coat. Wales put it on and ordered the car to be opened. And in the open car in the old, stained coat—which did not keep all the rain out anyway—he drove | through the downpour waving acknowl edgments to the cheers. A little thing, but in statecraft, as in life, these iittle things make an indelible | impression. and count. There was a little thing that looked like working out the other way during| the first South American tour that Wales made. It was in the Argentine, where there has been a chenge of | Presidents lately. But let me here interpolate that South America, rich and friendly to Britain and capable of immense de- velopment. means & lot to Britain, and that the main purpose of these royal ambassadorial tours is to gear good will to the industrial machine. The present tour of Wales and his younger brother covers 1ands in which ‘around $3,000,- 000,000 of British capital is invested. In Argentina alone, the third biggest contributor of raw materials to England, BY J. P, GLASS. R. WILLIS R. WHITNEY says: “Through pure research there will certainly be continually made other as needful, and yet unexpected, disclosure as these we now enjoy.” And again: “It seems as if no siraple known fact anywhere need long stand unemployed in a world which is animated with the will to appreciate and utilize.” These statements came frcm a man of solid scientific_attainment, Actually, they are a mes- sage of hope. Scientific disclosures as “neediul as those we enjoy” and the complete employment of known facts mean e continuing program of thrilling human experiences, and, more impor tant. a_world usefully, interestinglv and gaintuily at work amid conditions increasingly favorable for living. I went to the laboratory of the General Electric Co. at Schenectady to talk about future possible marvels of electricity, but forscok the idea. Given {he premise contained in the above statements, one can write his own predictions: and he does not have to hold a reir. on his imaginzation. Dr. Whitney presentzd an arresting thought. It was that back of the attainment of all knowl- edge, the building of all mechines, there must be & sincere_consideration of moral and spiritual values. “What profit it a man to gain the whole world if he lose his soul?” How We View Research. ‘Most of us, probably, look upon research as & cold, calculating search for facts. The research engineer, shrouded for the most in anonymity, has remained, for the general public, a reserved and self-contained creature singularly lacking in ordinary emotions. In Who's Who-Dr. Whitney is listed as & chemisi. He is much more than that. He is a philosopher &nd a humanitarian. It would not be geing too far also to call him poct and artist. A reasonable number of contacts with scien- tific and engineering minds sugeests to me the his ficld there are many geniuses similarly described. This being true, to reckon that the introduction of the boratory into industry has had a noble effect far removed from the mere production of profits. Industrial research must be envisioned as an incalculable factor in future human prog- Tess. In our day we have witnessed & development of historical importance in the adoption by in- dustrial leadership of a conception of industry as a form of social service in which the welfare of the worker is considered a primary objective. It is an interesting fact that almost at the same time that this conception began to take form industry launched upon the employment of scientific research as an aid to efficlency. It is probable that progress in industrial rela- tionships could not have been achieved without the aid of industrial research workers. That is, scientific research, in one form or another, pro- duced the means by which industry, through better organization, was able to supply better means and conditions of working; and, through the ‘manufacture of new devices, better means and conditions of living. Indeed, in many in- stances, the products of research actually led industry to more enlightencd attitudes, Nothing More Important. Industrial research has become so important a 1 Where Is America Going? Dr. Willis R. Whitney Says Industrial Research Will Aid Mankind’s Development and Idealism. DR. WILLIS R. WHITNEY. parent of industrial growth; the other parent being the will to live better." In this connection is to be noted another vital phenomenon. Industry, far from limiting or circumscribing industrial research, is giving it the freest opportunities that conditions permit, thus enabling the industrial labcratory in many cases to attain the level of the university or college laboratory. It takes no philosopher to perceive in this situation untold potentialities for human good. Says Dr. Whitney: ““We ought to realize that there may be more valuable use of knowledge and truth than com- merical development. Industrial uses of new knowledge are, after all, only ways of advancing to something better. Let us believe that when research is utilized by all industries, natural by- products will be further mental development, more serviceable idealism, fuller understanding among peoples and better direction of the affairs of nations.” I asked Dr. Whitney what was the difference between the indugtrial research laboratory when he first ploneered in the work for the General Electric at the beginning of the century and now. “In the beginning,” he said, “the industrial laboratory was devised to meet the pressing problems of industry. The laboratory worker attempted to reach set objectives. “Today, in addition to such purposes, the in- dustriel leboratory, like any university or other lahoratory devoted to pure research, reaches out into the greet beyond of unknown facts which KBRUARY 1. 1931 -PART TWO. “Beyond this, the industrial laboratory is con- cerned not merely with service to industry, but service for human good.” “How,” Dr. Whitney was asked, “does the re- search worker regard his possibilities for future usefulness?” “All that man has done to make life seem ha pler or more interesting is but & start in the process of improvement. “Neither raw materials nor scientific and con- structive principles show signs of exhaustion. If we fail to advance general welfare it will be due to inappreciation or lassitude on our part, not to any deficlency in the limitless possibilites of Nature. “In my opinion it is reasonable to suppose that while we have progressed with unprecedented strides in the recent past, there is no danger that we have approached an upper limit. “There are unlimited assets in the provisions of creation that are entirely untouched. Experi- ence has shown us that.” “What the the fevoring factors for industrial research ““There are several, Very important is the wil- lingness of industrial leadership to invest money in possibilities. In addition to school and Gov- ernment laboratories, there are 1,000 industrial laboratories in existence in America today. It is becoming the deliberate habit of industries to support e sciences on which they are based, not nlll{' in laboratories cf their own creation, but in those of universities and colleges. Because & man is president of a corporation no longer implies thet he is less interested in pure science than is a pure science teacher. “Important, too, is the fact that never before has the world's outlook for intelligent apprecia- ation of the possibilities in research been as great as it is todey. “Through the ages only a few individuals sensed the endless discoveries that might be made by testing the possibilitics in Nature. They had to struggle against the skepticism and inertia of the mass. Reduction of Skepticism. “Each advance in the practical application of the findings of science has reduced the total of human skepticism. A new psychology has arisen which has found expression in a commonly used expression—'What are they going to do next? “The wonders of scientific achievement pene- trate almost every life so intimately that few are left who are capable of doubting. “We might say that there is danger in over- popularizing industrial research. It would be disastrous to encourage a popular idea of it as a general panacea for work or a cure for all economic ills. Nevertheless, if we control our fears and taboos, as now scems possible, we may look forward to interesting occupations provided for every one, mechanical work everywhere, but only for machines. That is, physical labor will be reduceed to 2 minimum, while we do not cease to labor mentally. “Perhaps we have entered upon a new era in history, when for the first time a great aggrega- tion of human beings has awakened to a new faith—a faith in the truthfulness and relizbility of countless natural lJaws and the unbounded pos- sibilities in their application. If this be true— even though the vast majority base their faith on dim understanding—a tremendous effort for good hes been achieved which makes the environ- ment of research even more favorable, “'We must hold to the proper use of these laws of naturc-as the basis of our new faith. buyer of British goods and the largest ; hatives was observed standing employing besides 5,000,000 tons of British shipping annually—British in- his golf so thoroughly that it changed the whole aapect of his life and habits £nd affected those of his set a good ceal ! rented a house on the efle of vestments res, bonds total $1,740,000,000. ‘The prince is sufficiently alive to the importance of these Latin American bentures and | into the boat after the thing that it is not unreasonable to say that From being a mere appendage of industry, it has reached a situ- where, as Dr. Whitney says, nothing is more important. ation may or may not be of u been found that pure “it is the fectives. countries in the British trade scheme of things to have taken the trouble to ac- quire enough Spanish to manage a neat speech in that language, and in & jam he has back of him his diplomat- secretary, Sir Godfrey Thomas, tenth of a line of Welsh baronets, thin, dark and deep, and speaking Spanish like his mother tongue. Well, in the first visit of England's royal trade ambassador one of the items in the early Argentina program was a visit to a boys’ school in the capital. The boys are duly paraded—and they waited two hours. No prince. Naturally a storm brok rough things, comments were made in print about “bad staff work,” and the prince's en- tourage came in for a shower of brick- bats. President Really at Fault, But the truth of the matter was this: As the prince and the President sat late at & public banquet the night before, at the end of a heavy day of state and_functions, they agreed that a would have to be made in the next day’s program. “What shall it be?” asked the prince; “I must leave it to you.” The President said the school item was the least important and could go. He would see to it But, an old man, he slept late and did not see to it, and when the storm burst he let it thunder over the prince and his staff rather than invite it to come his way. For of such stuff are poli- ticians made. The prince and his people had to stand the racket. Noblesse oblige and so on. They could scarcely announce that the world had got it ail wrong and that it was their host, the Fresident, who had balled up the ar- rangements and left the infants stand- mng. Book Bares Origins Of Naval Customs LONDON.—In “Naval Customs and Traditions,” which has just bzen pub- lished here, Rear Admiral Gerard Wells, R. N, has made what is virtually the first ‘attempt to compile a book on the origins of the customs and traditions of the Royal Navy. In this country a sailor is not a “gob” but & “tar,” and aithough the term is | in general use, the origin is not well | known. According to Admiral Wells, the name is derived from the sailor's an- clent habit of tarring his trousers in order to make them waterproof; h-nce the term “tarry breck: From an alphabetical arrangement of the slang terms current in the Royal Navy the reader learns that “schooner on the rocks” is roast meat on potatoes, or a joint baked in batter. “‘Steerage ammick” consists of pork, currants and raisins made into a pud- ding, tied up in a cloth, very much like @ lashed hammock, and boiled. “Spit- head pheasant” is the high-sounding term given to kippered herring, while a “tin of sharks” is more usually known as & tn of sardines. The book is based upon the laws of Olercn, which were accepted by all the seafaring countries of the West and were a code adopted, according to tradi- tion, by King Alphonso X of Castil® and Leon in the middle of the thirteenth entury and by Edward II of England 50 vears later. ‘The laws of Oleron had no sym- pathy for murderers, for it is ordained: “Anybody who committed a murder at | sea is to be bound to the corpse and buried alive with it.” Theft on board was punishable with boiling tar and feathers, while the sailor who was found sleeping on watch had the error of his ways pointed out to him by being dip- ped in the sea. Admiral Wells relates one tradition concerning the methods by which, it is alleged, the navy obtained doctors dur- ing the seventeenth and eighteenth **EThe principal Scotland “The principal ex) m Scotlan were said to be ‘bi: -’flmm and doctors,” the book relates. “When the navy was short of doctors a frigate would be sent to cruise inshore off the Scottish coast. Whenever a group of on the beach an jolly-boat filled with porridge would be veered astern till it touched the beach. The natives would crowd &ffld‘e and then the jolly-boat would hauled off to the ship and would always be found to be full of doctors.” a IN LATIN | A ROYAL SALESMAN, E highest paid traveling sales- man in the world is on his way to South America to sell British goods and British friendship. A 1 few days ago the' steamship Oropesa left Liverpool with two popular salesmen on board, but they were the objects to considerably more attention than is usually accorded commercial representatives. ‘They were the Prince of Wales and his brother, Prince George, who wiil travel together more than 20.000 miles and visit at least 10 countries on a five- month journey through the southern continent for the purpose of aiding in efforts to regain export markets Latin _America and to ré-establish Great Britain as the leading trade na- tion of the world. The two royal envoys will stop at Bermuda and Havana before passing through the Panama Canal on their way to South America. In that conti- nent they are scheduled to visit Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, their first stop being Talara, a port in Northern Peru. The climax of the journey will be reached when they arrive in Buenos Aires, the huge South- ern metropolis which is the capital of the Argentine republic. Here the Prince of Wales will open on March 14 the British Empire Trade Exposilion, lend- ing his prestige to insure the success of this gigantic commercial undertak- ing, of vast significance for the future of British foreign trade. South American shores are not strange to his royal highness. This will be the second time that the Prince of ‘Wales has visited that part of the world, baving been in 1925 the official guest of the governments of Argentina, Chile and Brazil. From his personal descrip- tions of the tour and his enthusiastic statements about the charms of Latin America and her people it was not diffi- cult to understand when the Prince re- turned to London that he had enjoyed the trip and had been very favorably impressed by the courtesies and tradi- (ional hospitality of the Spanish-speak- ing countries. He was emphatic in showing his sympathes for and his in- terest in them. He spoke of them as offering “limitless possibilities,” and ad- vised young Englishmen to study Span- ish. He announced his intention of taking up Spanish himself, and even danced an Argentine tango in the first royal reception he attended back in England. With all this, neither was it difficult to understand that a second visit of the Prince to South America was more than a mere probability. Not in vain since his first visit has he been em- ploying many long hours in solving the intricate puzzles of Spanish grammar nlnd in mastering Spanish pronuncia- tion. JOHN BULL TO UNCLE SAM. Hardly could the Prince of Wales have chosen a better time to make his second visit to South America. Great Britain is going through a severe eco- nomic crisis, and lately her foreign trade has been suffering serious losses. Before the World War it was an every day story to hear of the commercial supremacy of Great Britain in Latin America. The greater markets, such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, were wholly controlled by British concerns. ‘The United States was considered sec- ondary in importance. The exports of this country to the ones mentioned in South America amounted to less than one-third those of Great Britain. By means of their enormous investments and extensive banking and sales o: 2an- izations British _interests _completely controlled the South. American mar- kets. Besides, they were in possession of the cable system, and American ex- porters were dependent upon English and German steamers for the trans- portation of their proaucts to the Southern lands. Today, however, things have under- @ change. There are American nking institutions, American cable lines and innumerable trade representa- tives of this country in South Americt The investments of United States capi- tal have increased considerably. They amount now to nearly $6,000,000,000. Export and import figures have, of course, increased two to three fold ia inter-American trade during the last 15 years. Last year the standings of Great Britain and the United States in practical Tesults than striving for stipulated ob- By GASTO! of | 1se commercially. It has research produces more research.” “‘As we look far ahead into the future we can repeat that there need be no end to industrial (Copyright, 1931.) AMERICA N NERVAL. Latin-American versed as compared to those prior to trade were quite re- the World War. The former furnished only about 16 per cent of the total Latin-American import trade, while the latter's contribution increased to 37 per cent, ‘To this change of commercial leader- ship in Latin America from John Bull to Uncle Sam many factors have con- tributed. Among these may be cited the construction of the Panama Canal, the difference in conditions brought about by the World War, the continu- ous inves:ment of American capital in the Southern continent, the steady de- velopment of agriculture, mines and |other industries in the Latin countries, | their increase in purchasing power and iheir ever-growing demand for foreign manufactured goods, most of which are produced in this country. ON TO RECONQUEST. Before sending her greatest salesman |to the rescue of her South American | trade Great Britain sent last year a commission of experts and commercial agents, headed by Lord D'Abernon, fa- mous British economist and the first ambassador England sent to Germany after the war. This commission studied economic conditions in Argeniina, Uru- guay and Brazil, made several contacts with Argentine interests, offered a loan to the Argentine government, secured the lowering of certain tariff rates on British products, and then, back in England, recommended & commercial exhibition to be opened in Buenos Alres. ‘The idea of promoting this exhibition was so enthusiastically received that the accommodations originally contracted for had to be doubled, and the British |government trebled its original contribu- tion to the project. A final element of success has now been added to the British Empire Trade Exhibition of Buenos Aires with the an- nouncement that his royal highness the Prince of Wales himself will open the exhibit amid spectacular and colorful ceremonies. British statesmen do not ignore the value of psychological reac- tion in putting over their economic projects. ‘The trip of the British heir is only another step, and a very important one, in an earnest and intelligent campaign of the Island Empire to regain her lost commercial supremacy in Latin America. ‘The British have realized the tre- mendous value which the South Ameri- can markets represent to their decreas- f | ing_export trade, and they are resolved to fight for it to the end. “They will not give up until they have played their best cards. They now are playing an ace in sending down their chief salesman in person to “put over” the huge trade exhibit in Buenos Aires. Thus, with the same zeal with which they dispute naval superiority or the possession of greater oil and rubber con- cessions in the world, John Bull and Uncle Sam will soon find themselves engaged in & new and more vital com- petition—that for the control of the Latin American trade. IDEAL CUSTOMERS. ‘The Latin-American market unques- tionably will play a most important part in the future commercial relations of the world. It includes 20 countries of vast natural resources, of inexhausti- ble wealth. And practically all of them are just beginning to develop their own industries. They are countries which on the one hand have been until now hardly exploited, and on the other hand have not as yet industries sufficiently developed to satisfy their own ever- growing needs. ‘They constitute, then, an excellent fleld for both the investment of capital and the consumption of foreign manu- factured goods. They possess everything that could be desired in an ideal ket. They have money, raw materials, and the means with which to guarantee investments and welcome capital and imported products. Many are the circumstances that favor European commerce in itin America. The countries south of®the Rio Grande are of European origin. Settled and colonized for centuries by European powers, they still preserve by historical tradition and cultural ties a Latin American culture is more arts and let- nent. identified with Euro ters than it is with ABaxon-American ' tory. natural tendency toward the old conti- | rial ideals. And although this situation is constantly changing in our day, and while through physical and material channels the inhabitants of both Amer- icas are coming into closer contact, this traditional attitude toward Europe will always favor any attempt on the part of & European nation to regain lostf, commercial advantages in that region of the world. Besides, the haul from Europe is com- paratively short to Latin-American ports, and better maritime services are in operation between the Old World and the Southern republics than between these latier and the United States. Argentina and Brazil, the most impor- tant markets, are nearer to European centers of production than they are to those of Uncle Sam. The constant and growing European immigration to the Latin-American countries must be taken into consid- eration also. Larger contingents of Spanish, Italian, German and British elements are traveling and settling every year in some Latin-American country and creating new racial links. THE RACE FOR MARIETS.. However, in spite of all these disad- vantages and of a greater one—that of misunderstanding and suspicion, which, fortunately, is now fading away-—Amer- ican products and American capital have during the last 15 years been achieving considerable gain in the con- quest of the Latin-American markets. These gains have aroused alarm in the Old World and have awakened a keen interest in developing the best means to attract such magnificent cus- tomers as the Latin American have proved to be. They have caused the addition of a number of commerciai at- taches and trade experts to the stafls of the British and German legations in the Southern countries. They have caused the development of most elab- orate advertis:ng schemes by the Euro- pean powers and the use of the most skillful selling talk by European repre- centatives down on the other side of the Equatorial line. These gains have been the cause of a series of tariff facilities and commer- cial advantages offered by European nations to the Latin-American republics in order to get reciprocal treatment for their exported products. They have also been the reason why a European trade commissioners and ex- perts have crossed the Atlantic. even originated the vista of two royal princes from the old continent to South America in 1924 and 1925. THE MAN AND THE TITLE. Only a few days ago 10 powerful Italian planes crossed the ocean in for- mation, the first long-distance flight of its kind, to show South Americans, in the words of Signor Mussolini, “the pro- ficiency of Italian enterprise and the power of Italian industrial develop- ment.” Obviously the valiant Fascist pilots were not only after a piece of glory for their flag but after something a bit more practical and more in ac- cordance with the standards of the day. The great commercial projects’of Il Duce for Italian expansion in the New World were cloaked in the smoke of their engines. And now the heir to the most power- ful empire on earth is on his way to South America to sell British good will and British goods. His title tells the whole story. He is not going as the crown prince nor as a special ambas- sador. He is going, according to offi- cial statements from London, as “‘com- missioner extraordinary of empire trade.” (Copyright, 1931.) Century-Old Temple Observing Anniversary ‘The historic Temple of Valhalla, in Germany, whose corner stones were lald by King Ludwig I of Bavaria exactly 100 years ago, celebrates this month an eventful century. Standing ° majes- tically upon a wooded hill above the blue Danube near Regensburg, this white aged marble temple resembles that of the famed Parthenon. Valhalla Temple had its lnce{tlon in German history when mfl udwig conceived the i of a rial temple to the great Germans in 1807, during the Na- poleonic occupation of the country, al- though 1t was not until 23 years iater that actual work on the temple was be- gun. The then mighty monaréh per- sonally chose the site and named the temple Valhalla. More than 100 memo- busts are displayed in the main hall of the temple commemorating fa- mous men and women in German his- number of | They | TAXPAYERS WOULD HAVE TO PAY DEBTS Cancellation of War Might Have Obligations by U. S. Far-Reaching Economic Effects. ___(Continued From Third Page.) ration must stand in a position of full responsibility for its own obligations. In the matter of terms of payment, however, it was recognized t con- siderable latitude is possible. While in- sisting upon recognition of the full principal amounts of the debts, the United States could and should adjust interest rates and terms of payment in accordance with the ability of each na- tion to pay. This principle was ob- served in the negotiation of all the debt-funding agreements, with the re- sult that in each case the schedule of payments to be made by the debtor gov- ernment, when capitalized into present value on the basis of current interest rates for that type of security, was ma- terially smaller than the nominal amount of the indebtedness. In many instances, such present values repre- sented only small fractions of the nom- inal amounts. . $10,621,185,993.10 Interest Received. The total amount of interest to be re- ceived under the debt agreements was $10,621,185993.10. If the debt had all been settled on the basis of an interest rate of 3 {)@r cent per annum, the amount would have been about $13,991 - 111,000, or nearly 32 per cent more than the actual sum. If there had been a uniform rate of 4%, per cent, the total amount .of interest would have been more than twice the actual sum. The total amount to be received under the agreement, capitalized into a present value at the dates of funding on the basis of an annual interest rate of 3 per cent, was only 76.2 per cent of the total amount of the debts prior to fund- ing; on the basis of a 41 per cent rate it was only 57 per cent, and on the basis of a 5 per cent rate it was only 48.8 per cent. In no case did the schedule of payments to be made by any govern- ment represent an annual interest rate r cent on the amount »f more than 315 of the debt as largest debtors were Great Britain, pa) ing at the rate of 3.306 per cent: France, 1.64 per cent; Italy, .405 per cent, and Belgium, 1.79 per cent. In determining these schedules of payments the prospective amounts to be received by the foreign governments, whether from reparations or from other sources, entered into the determination of capacity to pay. To that extent, and nn;y ‘t: t’hut extent, l:m-e reparations ang e inter-ally debts recognized by the United suuli Government as ele! ments in the question at issue. War Debts Summarized. The status of the indebtednes of for- eign governments to the United States as of July 1, 1930, the date of the latest report, may be summarized as follows: Total indebtedness amounted to $11, 636.778,639.87, consisting of funded in- debtedness of $11,280,200,878.50, with accrued interest thereon of $34,206,- 294.13, and unfunded indebtedness of $204,851,842.85, with accrued interest thereon of $117,519,624.39. Total pay- ments received on account of the debts amounted to $2,391,548,141.97, consist- | ing of payments on account of funded indebtedness of $391,752,610.50 for prin- cipal and $1,046,451,929.58 for interest, and on account of unfunded indebted- ness of $281,989,667.78 for principal and $671,353,934.11 for interest. In recent months there has been 'some speculation as to whether the German government would request a moratorium on reparation payments, as provided for in the Young plan, and whether the allied governments would meet the situation by asking for a sim- ilar moratorium on their payments to the United States, If such a situation should arise the adherence of the United States to its declared policy would require all discussion to be on the premise that the debts of the allied governments to this country are obligations of those governments, not of Germany, and that any request for a modification of the terms of payment imposes upon the govern- | ment requesting it the burden of prov- ing that the request is justified by changes in its capacity to pay. To recognize payments to this country as contingent on the payment of repara- tions by Germany would be, in effert, to become Germany's guarantor and to agree that the taxpayers of the United States would make up to the debtors any amounts of reparations that - many might refuse or neglect to pa U. S. Bore Share of War Cost. The United States bore its share of the cost of the war, both in wealth and in human lives. The debt-funding agreements are based upon the prin- ciple of leniency and were formulated and accepted in the belief that they :':p':::ent dhlr and reasonable settle- ents, and no reason as yet aj ! to alter that view. N n defining its policy the Govern- ment of the United States has El;l;- quently emphasized the fact that the recognition of capacity to pay is based not only on a belief in the justice of this principle, but also on the view that to ignore it would be to neglect the welfare of this country. The United States has not purposed to hold Europe in a state of industrial paral- ysis or of economic subjection. ~If it ever appears that the fulfillment of the | present debt schedules would have that effect the situation can be dealt with | as_the situation develops. It is frequently argued that the | money loaned to the allied nations Wwas_our contribution to the winning of the war and that though admitted- i}; lmdegctnle‘lilly inviolable, it is not iscience. This caged m;;nl issue. e o ¥ ven if the argument were that we should, without queltloc:?g:m and cancel every dollar that provided powder and shot, or that went directly | to congribute to the defeat of the Ger- | man Y, it would be difficult to con- ! vince the American people that moneys | Which provided the means for pegging | allied exchange, with which commercial debts all over the world were paid, and our own exporters frequently under- bid, or that was used to construct ships | which are a commercial assct, or that was used to subsidize the prices of commodities sold to civilian non-com batants by the allied governments at the very time when we were controlling our prices by voluntary agreements, or that went into the permanent improve- ment of the economic equipment of the allied nations, should not be repaid to our Government. Debt Incurred After War. It should also be borne in mind that a large additional amount of the al- lied indebtedness to the United States amounting to $3,260,943,602.20 was in- curred to aid in economic recovery and adjustments after the war. Our Gov- ernment has felt that the moral obli- gation nstln{ upon the borrowing na- tions to fulfill such engagements is still less subject to controversy. The net effect of the adjustments now made is that the United States has canceled nearly all of the face amount of the obligations entered into by its allies during the period in which we were participants in the war. The charge frequently made in Eu that the United States profited vastly out of the war is dissipated under any analysis revealing the tremendous increase in onr na 1 debt and the huge amount of ‘taxation imposed upon us by war obligations. ‘The total cost of the war to the United States has been estimated at nppmxlmaf&ly $35,000,000,000, and the burden iposed upon the taxpayers . States would probably e it most 8 t to se- cm':f °uf.u r t:flneesutm'mt » na eB United mg"m Txed b . Mellon at $16,026,000,000. At the aver- age rate of interest borne by that debt At the end of the last fiscal year, 3.806 per cent, the annual interest cl amounts to approximately $610,000,000. Last year the total payments of princi- pal and interest of the 18 nations in- debted to the United States amounted to about $239,500,000, or less than 39 per cent of our own interest charge on the national debt incurred by the war. If the present debt settlement terms are fulfilled, the amount of an- nual payments will increase to a > mum of about $420,000,000, and as the interest requirements on our own na- tional debt decrease in due course, the debt payments will meet this interest charge and leave a balance applicable to a_reduction of principal owed the United States Government to its bond holders, as was assured them when the Liberty bonds were sold. U. S. Liberal in Treatment. ‘To cite one instance alone, the one which perhaps creates the most dis- cussion, the total debt of one debtor government. to the United States prior to funding was about $4,230,000,000 On the 5 per cent interest basis borne by the obligations given by the debtor government, the present value of pay- ments provided for in the agreement would be $1,681,000,000, a reduction of 60 per cent, in effect wiping out tme entire indebtedness incurred the debtor government during the war period and providing simply for the payment of advances made to that government after the armistice, which aggregate, including accrued interest, $1,655,000,000. It is the feeling of our officials that the United States has been liberal in the treatment of its debtors and they can see no justification for the criti- cism sometimes made of the position taken. It may properly be borne in mind that in the settlements of the peace treaty the United States alone of all the allied participants received no territorial or financial consideration whatever and that the burden of in- debtedness we inherited from the war has no offsetting credits. It is even deemed doubtful whether a cancellation of the war debts would be within the spirit of the Constitution. If Congress should undertake to levy a special tax for the purpose of making a gift to & foreign government, payment of that tax could probably be success- fully resisted upon the ground that the Constitution makes no provision for such a tax. Section 8 of Article I of the Constitution authorizes Congress “tc lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises; to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States.” While the suggested tax would * plainly not be within this constitutional provision, it is probably true that in case of a cancellation of debts which would have precisely the same effect upon taxpayers, there would be no legal method by which any tax- payer could protect himself. It is urged that Congress ought not, however, to do indirectly that which it is without wer to do directly. The FPederal vernment is one of limited and enumerated powers, and it would be unreasonable to suppose that the people would ever have consented to taxation for the benefit of foreign nations, even for their own possible economic benefit. Further Concessions -Unjustified. It is thus argued that any further concessions on the part of our Gove ernment would be unjustifiable politi- cally, morally and economically, and while many approve the exercise of the utmost tience and consideration possible, accordance with the terms of the agreements drawn, they can see no justification for further material concessions on our part. If it should develop that in any case the requirements are too severe the ordinary intelligent consideration by a creditor for the interests of his debtor would warrant a reconsideration and possible amendment of the existing agreement as a matter of sound business policy. The attitude of our Govern- ment has been that each case should stand on its own merits without vio- lating the principle involved or establishing precedents for others. The Washington point of view in regard to the matter seems to be that the question is primarily political rather than economic, and there appears to be no politician willing to suggest to the American people that they assume the burden of taxation which would be in- curred by the cancellation of outstand- ing war Indebtedness. Moreover, the opinion is almost universally expressed in political circles that should such a suggestion be made by any political leader it would find little response ir the body politic. It is further urged that any movement for cancellation or reduction, if necessity compels it, should properly come from the debtor and not from the creditor nation. So far no such effort has been publicly made. and the matter is not officially before our Government for consideration. There are, naturally, great differ- ences of opinion as to the possible economic effects of either collecting or canceling war debt settlements, and whereas there are important econo- mists and business leaders who urge this as a curative measure for inter- national business depression, there are many others who do not accept this argument and insist that while con- cessions may be necessary in some in- stances, the spirit of the settlements agreed upon should be maintained, and that simple justice to the American taxpayer demands the fulfillment of these obligations, at least in such meas- ure as the “capacity to pay” warrants. Moreover, there is a widespread belief that both the causes and possible cures of the present depression are quite apart from and independent of any question of a settlement of war debts. Burden Greatly Increased. ‘There is one important factor in the situation which cannot be ignored in justice to the debtor countries. By reason of the fall in commodity prices the burden of our debtors has been greatly increased, for the debt burden is really not fixed b7 dollar values, but by the values of the goods and services which must be translated into dollars in order to complete payment. A big decline in the price level means an additional burden upon the debtor country, which must exchange its and services to satisfy dollar claims. Reductions or delay in payments to make that readjustment would have economic and moral justification and could be made without violating the principle of fulfilling obligations. fact should not be lost sight of that throughout this post-war period the United States has made extensive private loans to European countries to assist in their economic stabilization, . and while recently the volume of these loans has decreased because of depres- sion in the bond markets there is still & very large amount of ‘foreign financ- ing being done here through the pur- chase of bills and acceptances, and American credit is being extensively employed in supporting commercial ac- tivities throughout Europe, particularly in Germany. It certainly cannot be Jjustly said that we have avoided either our responsibilif ities nation liveth to itself alone, and that we cannot be content in pursuing our historic policy of live and let live, but if we ourselves are to the full- ness of life we must live and live, yet always, it may be added withcut undue selfishness, with primary for our own interests and the welfare of our own X th.lzm is saill a very general charity may properly begin at home.