Evening Star Newspaper, February 8, 1931, Page 29

PANAMA AND NICARAGUA CENTER OF WAR MANEUVER Navy’s Report on Findings of Mimic, Battle Expected to Bear on ~ Alternate Canal Route. BY E. BRUGUIERE. . HE proposed Nicaraguan Canal during the present week will play & part in the war game of a first-power nation. The Battle Fleet, under the command of Admiral Frank H. Schofleld, has been ordered to sail from California to Pan- ama, there to join the Scouting Fleet, under Vice Admiral Arthur L. Willard. ‘The two fleets are scheduled to com- mence the maneuvers on Thursday. ‘Then, for the purposes of the battle problem, the Battle Fleet will be desig- rated as the “Blacks” and the Scou Fleet as the “Blues.” The Black Fleet is to be the attacking force, while the Blues endeavor to protect the entrances of the Panama and Nicaraguan Canals. Observers feel that the report of the Navy Department on the findings of the coming maneuvers as to the rela- tive merits of the two canals in com- munications and defense will be one of the deciding factors in the fate of the Nicaraguan project. Half Capacity Now Used. Although the Panama Cana} has been eonsidered by the authorities” adequate for the present needs, it has been cal- culated that within the next 20 or 30 years, at the present rate of traffic in- crease, the Panama route will become insufficient. The annual capacity of the Panama Canal in cargo tons is esti- mated at 65,000,000. That figure does not, however, take into consideration the fact that the arrival of traffic is very irregular. There are times when the entrances are practically empty and others when ships are forced to wait as long as two days for clear passage. The transits of 1929-30 were 6,185, with about 30,000,000 tons of cargo. At what is considered the mean average (32 ships daily) the average annual maximum capacity is 11,680 ships, which would allow only slightly more than a 50 _per cent increase. The drought has greatly aggravated the problem of the increasing traffic. ‘The 1929-30 period is reported as the driest on record in 50 years, greatly lowering the water level of the artificial Gatun Lake. Now officials in Panama are looking ‘forward to the completion of the dam authorized by Congress in 1928, to dam the Chagres River at Alhajeula. This dam will be 170 feet high and with its 22,000,000,000 cubic feet of water will create a reservoir cov- ering 22 square miles. Its cost is esti- mated at $12,000,000 and the time to complete it at five years. Follows : Vanderbilt Route. caraguan _survey, which is Deing made by Col. Dan 1. Sultan, with a battalion of United States Army En- gineers, is progressing rapidly and gmpuuon of the survey is expected by is coming Summer. The map making details have been completed and the Engineers are now diamond drilling at the locksites to determine the aAa - ped, the mapped, e present proposed route coincides almost perfectly with the route suggested in 1550 by Antonio Galvao, a Portuguese; it also follows the passage used by Corne- lius Vanderbilt in 1849, when he the side-wheeler Dictator as far as Ni¢ with would be about 24 hours. The saving in time for the New York to San Fran- cisco voyage would be two days or 550 nauticgl miles. The altitude of Gatun Lake in Panama is 85 feet, as opposed to 110 feet of Lake Nicaragua. Hence Nicaragua would require, it is estimated, 10 locks, or four more than Panama. Nevertheless, in comparison to the $338,000,000 which the Panama Canal cost to construct, the estimate on the Nicaraguan Canal is that it will not exceed $185,000,000. As in the first 1§ years, ending August, 1929, of operation of the Panama (.Jarml. the excess earn- b over operating expenses were ap- pnl‘:;ln\lwl}' $119,000,000, it is believed that the proposed canal would soon pay for itself. Rights Acquired in 1914. ‘The United States acquired the right to build the Nicaraguan Trans-Isthmian Canal by the Bryan-Chamorro treaty of 1914, ratified in 1916, for the sum of $3,000,000. The treaty granted “in per- petuity to the Government of the United States, forever free from all tax- ation or other public charge, the exclu- sive proprietary rights necessary and convenient for the construction, opera- tion and maintenance of an inter- oceanic canal * * *” Through the same treaty the United States also re- ceived free of charge a 99-year lease on the Little Corn and Great Corn Islands in the Caribbean, and the site for a naval base on the Gulf of Fon- seca, on the Pacific between Honduras, Salvador and Nicaragua. The treaty caused considerable dis- cussion in Central America. Costa Rica and Salvador brought suit again Nica- ragua in the Central American Court of Justice in Cartago on the grounds that as the San Juan River and the Gulf of Fonseca formed a part of their respec- tive international boundaries, Nicara- gua could not rightfully sell this route or lease out the gulf. Nicaragua ignored the adverse deci- sion of the court. When the United States refused to become embroiled in the affairs of the Central American court, the court ceased to function and no more has been heard of the case since. But there are many who believe that when and if the canal construction is commenced the controversy is liable to be renewed. Commission Visits Nicaragua. Members of the Interoceanic Canal Commission recently reached Nicaragua to pass a month observing conditions and the progress of the survey. From there they plan to go to Panama to study the possibilities of enlarging the Panama Canal as an alternative to the Nicaraguan route. Those desiring to see the construc- tion of the Nicaraguan Canal are anx- jously awaiting the commission’s report, as many times the realization of the proposed route has seemed assured only to have other projects interfere. In fact, the Nicaraguan Canal was pro- posed in Congress some time before that of Panama. Already there have been many surveys of the route, the last of which, in 1901, is not too antiquated to be of use. PANAMA READY FOR FLEET. 35,000 Sailors Will Bring Pay Roll of $4,000,000. PANAMA CITY.—Panama has swiftly e | recovered from its revolution and is pre- ‘Tipilapa, is Lake Managua, almost half large and 24 feet higher, insuring & Dlentiful water supply. crosses Lake Nicaragua of 75 miles to San Carlos and the San Juan River, which runs el to the border between Costa Rica and Nica- wmflmmewwucmm T, Time Saving Put at Two Days. For one-half of its length the San Juan River is deep and sluggish, and wide, winding through jungles and angrove swamps. But after passing Junction with the San Carlos River it becomes turbulent and muddy. Even 80 it is navigable for small river boats (which now are Nicaragua’s only means of coast-to-coast transportation), with the exception of the four rapids known as the Costillo group. At tgue ints portage is essential. The river in sev- eral places would have to be straight- ened and the channel deepened for its entire length to Greytown Harbor. ‘The entire distance from coast to coast by this route is 183 miles, and it is estimated that the time of passage nflnl for the visit of the United States leet, due in Pacific waters this month. It is estimated that the combined At- lantic and Pacific Fleets will land in Panama approximately 35,000 sailors, whos2 pay roll during their extended stops at Cristobal, Colon and Panama City will aggregate nearly $4,000,000. Although the war games will not start until the arrival of the Battle Fleet, submarines of the control force already have reached Cristobal, on the Atlantic side, and will operate there until the arrival of the Scouting Fleet from Guan- tanamo Bay, Cuba, about February 12. ‘These units, constituting the Blue Fleet, defending the canal, will transit to Pa- cific side waters, there to await the ar- rival of the invading Black Fleet from rSan Pedro and San Diego. Eleven battleships, 3 aircraft carriers, 13 light cruisers, 74 destroyers, 39 sub- marines and 44 auxiliary ships will take part in the great war game. In addi- tion, 273 naval planes are to be ready for action, and for the first time the dirigible Los Angeles will participate in maneuvers. Execution of the war games, techni- cally known as Fleet Problem 12, is expected to occupy 10 days. The entire ficet will then return to anchorage in Panama Bay, and until near the end of March will engage in tactical exercises intended to whip the various units into ; co-ordinated and efficlent fighting As is customary, the Army forces sta- tioned here will keep close watch for the advent of the “attacking” Black Fleet, and will take every precaution to safeguard the canal locks. Interest in Meteor Crater Is Spurred By Appearance of First of Leonid Group PPEARANCE of the first of the Leonid meteors, which three times each century shower the earth, is once more arousing scientific speculation regarding the nature and fate of the celestial visitor responsible for Meteor Crater near Winslow, Ariz. It has long been an accepted fact that the enormous bowl, three-fourths of a mile in di- ameter and 540 feet deep, was caused centuries ago by the terrific impact ‘with the earth of a gigantic meteor or cluster of meteors during just such & visitation as the one we are under- going. ‘Two astronomers, Dr. Forest Ray Moulton, formerly professor at the Uni- versity of Chicago,. and Herman L. Fairchild, professor emeritus of the University of Rochester, recently have advanced the theory separately that the Arizona meteor or meteoric swarm collided with the earth with such tre- mondous force as to explode the matrix, ‘whether of stone or of nickel-iron, which was blown as dust over the sur- rounding plain and dissolved or washed away by the torrential rainfall Nodules Alone Remain. All that remains or that ever will be found of the giant bolide or cluster, they say, are the Canyono Diablo irons, imperishable nodules originally imbed- ded in the more brittle matrix and ‘which are distributed by the thousands for a radius of four miles about the crater. ‘Whether this theory will be accepted and will end the floor of the crater during the years 1905-1908 revealed that under the sur- face sediment and rock debris the de rock strata were undistnrbed. absence of a volcanic chimney ended the belief that th- crater ‘was formed by hot swelling gases from within the earth, a theory tenaciously adhered to by many scientists up to that time. 100-Foot High “ling Thrown Up. g the bowl and barfked in agencies. fell slantingly from the north and lies buried deep under the south wall. Since 1920 all the drilling has been carried on under this wall, and some substantiation of the idea of the boldie’s presence there seemed to be afforded by the discovery of meteoric irons from the depth of 1,200 feet down to 1,376 feet, where the drill was stuck and had to be aban- doned. But while it still remains to be ex- plained how detached fragments of the meteorite could reach such a depth, it is considered impossible for the mass of the boldie to penetrate to that depth or deeper. To do so, Prof. Fairchild points out, the body would have had to traverse slantingly 2,000 feet of rock. An im- Flct of sufficient force to penetrate so far would have uplifted the surface more than 100 feet, he said. Astronomers Differ on Theories. Dr. Moulton favors the theory that the Arizona intrusion was a close swarm of meteors, and that the iron nodules in matrices of decomposable nickel- iron. He estimated that 300,000 tons of meteors, exploding as they hit the earth with the violence of 400,000,000 tons of 1NT, could have produced Me- teor Crater. A 1,000-ton meteor hitting rock meets with a resistance of 50,000 tons a square inch, against which the meteor works at the rate of 2,400,000 horsepower for each square inch. Between such enor- mous forces nickel-iron has scarcely mA‘wdu risistance than tissue paper, he said. The Meteor Crater visitor was a single giant bolide, consisting mainly of stone with a few free associates, declares Prof. Fairchild. If the bolide were largely nickel-iron the metallic vnimr resulting from the explosion, expanding with tremendous force in all directions, would have coated with a green stain all the rocks surviving the onslaught. ‘There is a marked absence of such stain, It 1is possible that massive metallic bodies are formed in extinct suns or planets, but such a belief is contrary to our knowledge of the cosmos, he maintains. Stony Meteorites Decompose. Stony meuon"a':‘-m lzng uuwlv? t rapid decom| )y _atmospher Whlmt is a known lnc‘t’ that times as numerous as iron , prac- still t» be seen originally were included | THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., FEBRUARY 8. 1 931—PART TWO Damming the Oil Flood Secretary of Interior Tells of Problems That Surround Great Industry Which So BY RAY LYMAN WILBUR, United States Secretary of the Interior. a nearer approach to ab- solute correctness than he probably realized some one coined the K;n.nae. “Our civilization” gasoline not many years ago, as descriptive of an epoch in our national life. As I write this, there lies before me an estimate, based on a world-wide in- vestigation, made by the Department of Commerce, that 110 nations and po- litical subdivisions of the world will spend at least $3,000,000,000 on roads and road construction during 1931. The expenditures of this kind in the United States alone will be $2,000,000,000 dur- ing the year. Now translate that into terms of men actually working in road construc- tion gangs, into men working in cement plants, into men working in road ma- chinery assembling shops, into men working in steel foundries, in coal mines, in automobile factories and in BY HENRY W. BUNN. HE following is a brief summary of the most important news of the world for the seven days ended February 7: AT THE BRITISH EMPIRE.—What with observing the careers in Parliament of the school leaving age bill, the trades disputes amendment bill and the elec- toral reform bill; with watching for Indian Nationalist reactions to the resolutions of the round table confer- ence; with sympathetically following the South American tour of the Prince of Wales, bagman extraordinary of the empire; with eager anticipation of the Schneider Cup race; with the hideous spectacle of the great Lancashire cot- ton textiles industry strangled by a lockout, while important negotiations are taking place in the railway industry and a no less important arbitration is in process in the coal mining industry; what with the Bank of England's loss of gold; what with Winston Churchill in eruption; with with this, that and t'other, our British cousins have quite enough to engage their attention. The electoral reform bill was sub- mitted to the Commons on February 2. Its main features are as follows: (1) “The alternative or seccnd-pref- erence system” is instituted. €5y No longer will a person be allowed two votes, namely, at his place of busi- ness and at his place of residence. Hereafter he or she shall have only one vote. (3) The university constituencies are abolished. (4) The maximum of allowable elec- tion expenses is somewhat reduced. Feature 1 is incomparably the mcst important. The Liberals have indicated its acceptability to them as the “sec- ond best method of securing adjusted representation in Parliament.” The present indication is that, despite ferocious Conservative opposition, the bill will be passed by the Commons through Liberal votes. Lloyd George has asserted that, should the Lords veto it (as almost everybody expects) the Labor government will be maintained in power by Liberal votes until the bill can be passed over the Lords’ veto; e, for two years (two successive an- nual overriding votes by the Commons being required). A very interesting situation prom- ises; not a happy one for their lord- ships. (l))n the 3d, the bill passed its sec- ond reading in the Commons, 295 to 230, all the Liberals supporting it. Con- servative comment in the debate was rather merry. Said Sir E. Hilton Young: “For the first time the methods of the racketeer—in the understanding be- tween Lloyd George and the govern- ment—are seen on this side of the At- lantic. The proposed alternative vote would reduce politics to a gamble. The existing majority vote is the best sys- tem in 1d not inhabited entirely by mathematicians and _archangels.” ‘The bill now goes to committee, where thin happen to & ‘Roughly, the allernative plan® op-| urban Much Influenc scores of other industries, and you will gain some idea of what the availability of gasoline for transportation purposes means to our whole national economic structure. But you will not, even then, fully un- derstand the meaning of that term “gasoline civilization.” You will have to consider, for instance, the families supported by those toiling men em- ployed as the result of road construc- tion and improvement—millions of peo- ple whose livelihood depends to some extent on continued production and use of a basic national resource: petroleum “black gold,” oil, or whatever you choose to call it. Then, if you would understand still better what the oil industry means to you and the remainder of our 120,000,000 people, you can glance at some of the reports of the 1930 census of distribution made by the Department of Commerce. ‘You take up the report for Fort Col- lins, Colo., for instance, and find that in this city of 11,000 people, spending erates as follows: Each voter indicates on his ballot first, second and_third choice among the candidates. If one of the three candidates has a majority over the other two, he is elected. If the leading candidate has only a plurality the votes for the lowest man on the poll are distributed among the first two ac- cording to the indications of second choice on the respective ballots. The candidate having the greater number of votes after this proceeding is elected. Of course, the Liberals would like to have proportional representation, but they can't have it. On February 5, over the course at Daytona Beach, Fla., Capt. Malcolm Campbell, that doughty old performer. established a new automobile speed record for the mile, going the distance at the rate of 245.733 miles per hour. better by over 14 miles than the record established in 1929 by the late lamented Sir Henry Segrave. : Mahatma Gandhi and the Working Committee of the All-India National Congress have decided not to call off the ecivil disobedience campaign in In- dia. In_ his first speech since release from confinement, on February 1 at Allahabad, to some 50,000 followers, the Mahatma so announced, and at the same time the Working Committee pub- lished a resolution adopted by it set- ting forth. four conditions which must be fulfilled before the Congress will ne- gotiate for peace, as follows: Granting by the British authorities of amnesty to all political prisoners; withdrawals by said authorities of all ‘“repressive measures”; permission by said authori- ties of “continuance of peaceful picket- ing of foreign cloth, drink and drug shops”; and permission by said authori- tles to make salt despite the law through the period of negotiation. ‘The manifesto states that the boycott of foreign cloth “is a vital necessity in the interest of the masses and will re- main a permanent feature of Nation- alist activity until the nation acquires the power to exclude foreign cloth yarn from India, whether by total prohibi- tion or by a prohibitive tariff.” * ok ok ok FRANCE.—I barely mentioned last week the acceptance, on January 30, by the French Chamber of the new fgovernment headed by Senator Laval. The majority of 54 for the vote of con- fidence was unexpectedly large. No doubt M. Laval was much helped by the fact that the “ministerial declaration” strongly advocated extension of public education and definitely declared against clericalism in the public schools. Of course, M. Laval, of old a Socialist,’ was condemned by Left orators for his pnl;cs;:n association with elements of the ight. 1t is pleasant news that the municipal council of Paris is taking vigorous measures looking to replacement of Paris trees destroyed or fatally sick- ened by gasoline fumes, by new full- Lrown trees of hardier varieties. #2id to be more richly adorned with trees than any other great city, hav- ing some 87,000 full-grown trees along its streets. Of all trees the plane tree is_said to be adapted to modern es Our Lives. edgmemeTe » —Draw) altogether $7,684,978 in retail stores and establishments, more than $2,000,000 goes to the automotive group. There are 211 retail establishments and 55 of them are classed as ‘“‘automotive.” Twenty-seven per cent of the money spent in the town goes into the chan- nels carved—or greased by oil. The food stores get only 24 per cent of the retail business. And the automotive group is responsible for employing more people than any of the others; paying more wages, too, in the aggregate. Give Jobs to Millions. There is nothing exceptional about this. In San Diego, Calif.; in Medford, Ore.; in cities and towns in every other part of the country, the situation is the same. Gasoline and oil are furnishing employment for many millions of peo- ple. directly or indirectly. Now it can very readily be under- stood, from this brief, wholly in- adequate outline, that the state of af- S — n for The Sunday Star by Stockton Mulford. people outside that industry, from coast to coast, from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico. ‘When the headlines announce “New Slashes Made in Crude Oi! Prices,” there are hundreds of communities in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and Califor- nia whose people will feel the pinch of restricted, curtailed incomes. But, also, outside those communities, and at great distances, are thousands of other: peo- ple who are. likewise affected, though indirectly—people who have been sup- plying the oil communities with a great variety of products. And the fact that the “slash in crude” may be reflected by a difference of 1-10 or 1 of a cent in the price of gasoline at the service station pump does not induce any one o do more driving; it does not help the man at the pump, or at the oil well. Now every one knows that the oil in- dustry is in a turmoil, and has been that way a considerable length of time. For _any public official even to mention fairs within the oil industry itself is one that concerns a very great number of Don't forget, ladies, that Paris says pleats are the ticket. Note, too, that “the straight, slender silhouette, devoid of jutting details,” commends itself; that “daytime skirts show a low, moderate flare,” while eve- ning skirts have “a voluminous low fullness”; that “waistlines are placed normally, but are not drawn in,” and that “the popularity of two colored and three colored jacket ensembles” receives official sanction. Redfern's front pep- lums and trailing trousers edged with black lace are very intriguing. * ok ok % SPAIN.—A royal decree of February 4 ordered all Spanish universities closed for a month, the idea being to end that source of trouble pending the general elections. The decree speaks of "dis- order, vandalism and downright spite” as rampant in those institutions. Watch Spain. This is the twelve-hundredth year since the birth of Abd-ar-Rahman, founder (in 756) of the Omayyad dy- nasty of Spain; one of the ablest and most interesting of princes. He Was about 20 years of age when, upon the overthrow by the Abbasids of the Omay- yad dynasty in the East, he, with his brother, took refuge with Bedouin tribes in the desert. Abbasid agents were hot on_their trail and his brother was slain, but he escaped to Africa. His advenutres over the next lustrum were as romantic as anything in the Arablan Nights. With a few followers he at last found safety among the Berbers of Mauretania, by whose aid he established himself in Spain. Compelled to ceaseless activity in suppressing rebellion among his Arab and Berber chieftains, he grew embit- tered and ferocious, but he laid firm bases, for his dynasty lasted over two centuries. * ok ok ok GERMANY.—On February 3 the Reichstag reopened for what promises to be a very important sessfon. Chan- cellor Bruening told that body that it must pass the budget at once and without amendments, “in order to re- store foreign confidence in the essential democracy of Germany.” At last, on January 31, the great German flying boat DO-X hopped off from Lisbon on her flight for South America. Seven hours later she de- scended in the harbor of Las Palmas in the Canaries, 715 miles from Lis- bon. She had 19" souls aboard. But her “hoodoo” continues. Weather and some minor mechanical difficulties de- layed to February 3 the attempt to take off for the Cape Verde Islands, and that morning as she was taxiing for a take-off a big wave caused under- water damage which, it is feared, will delay prosecution of the adventure for a fortnight or so. It is further stated that the motors are not giving com- plete satisfaction. * ok ok K | (Continued on Fourth Page.) The Story the Week Has Told Aires, since 1913 the United States’ share of imports into Argentina has in- creased by 122 per cent, while the British share has fallen by 12.4 per cent. In 1913 the United States’ share (value, presumably) was 14.7 per cent, that of Britain 31 per cent, that of Germany 17. In 1929 the percentages (Argentine official figures) were: United States 26.9; Britain 18.6; Germany 12.2. But our superiority, up to 1930 steadily progressive since 1913, fell off in the slump year 1930, according to figures furnished by our Department of Com- merce; United States exports to Ar- gentina in 1930 totaled $101,930,600 in value, as against $95,761,000 for Great Britain. Argentina is the leading Latin American market for our goods. ‘The Prince of Wales is to open the British Empire Trade Exposition at Buenos Aires on March 14. +Complete official figures show that Argentine exports in 1930 totaled less in value than those of 1929 by about 36 per cent, the value total being the lowest for any year since 1917 and the tonnage total the lowest for any year since 1925. The heaviest declines were in respect of grains and flaxseed. * ok ok X ‘UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.— ‘The report of Gov. Parks of Alaska for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1930, is an interesting document. Mineral production showed a fair increase and agriculture, including dairying and live stock, prospered. Not less the fisheries, which employed over 29,000 persons and whereof the total production, ex- clusive of aquatic furs, was valued at about $51,000,000. Some 400 whales were taken. Agriculture is at its best in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, served by the Alaska Railroad. Experiment shows the practicability of cultivating apples and other fruits. The balance of trade was favorable to the Territory by about $37,000,000. The population of the Territory has increased by about 4,500 since 1920. Juneau now has about 4,000, Ketchikan nearly 4,000, Fairbanks about 2,000 and Anchorage about 2,300. It does not seem to be generally understood that only the northern third of the Terri- tory has a truly Arctic climate. The 3 NAVAL PACT JEOPARDIZED BY FRANCO-ITALIAN STAND Britain Faces Problem of Resorting to “Escalator” Clause With Failure of Two Nations to Renew Truce. portion being 191,000 tons to 220,000 tons built and building. But the British have a very large pre- ponderance of cruisers—370,000 tons contrasted with the possible combina- tion of 258,000 tons against them. Then also the treaty permits the un- limited construction of a class of vessel which would be most excellent in com- bating submarines. There is no limit on ships. of less than 2,000 tons displace- ment and 20 knots speed, if their gun power does not exceed one 6.1-inch gun or four guns larger than 3 inches in caliber. Many trawlers and other merchant ships are suitable for quick conversion into such a t{‘pe. apart from those which may be built by the gov- ernment. In this treaty loophole the British have a most valuable anti-submarine asset to be added to their destroyer strength, both of which will be all the more effective from Lic support of very superior cruiser forces. Hence at present the British have no reason for alarm, nor for invoking the escalator clause. But what about the BY CAPT. DUDLEY W. KNOX, U. 8. Navy, Retired. HE termination of the Franco- I Italian naval building truce nitely jeopardizes the London naval treaty. How soon the treaty may become impaired will .de- pend upon how quickly the French un- which, added to Italian building, may undermine the “two-power standard” of the British. ‘The long manifested determination naval auxiliary forces seems all the more likely to lead to early energetic building in view of the expected Ger- man claims at the forthcoming general The building truce between France and Italy was arranged during the ses- sions of the London Naval Conference when it became apparent that those agreement as to auxiliary tonnage. The French had insisted upon a quota ap- proximating to 70 per cent of British auxiliary strength. The Italians were so long as they were assigned parity with Prance, which in principle the French opposed. Unacceptable to British. posing Franco-Italian differences it was manifest that the scale of the French demands was virtually certain to make their two navies together substentially opposed to the “two-power” policy of the British and therefore quitc unac- ceptable to them. The conference ac- cordingly went ahead with an agreo- Japan on a scale of limitation which would preserve Britain’s two-power standard in relation to existing Franco- Italian strength. was inserted in the treaty making it possible for England to match future Franco-Italian construction in any class of auxiliary shipc. Such action sponding limits for America and Japan. It was hoped that the truce followed up by independent negotiations - tween the French and Italians and en- forts of the other powers would bring about e permanent limitation arrange- ment of such nature as to make it pos- sible for France and Italy finally to or at least to make it unnecessary to invoke the escalator clause. The hope has proved to be vain, in spite of the offices of Robert Leslie Craigie for Great Britain, and notwithstanding the influence of the sessions of the Preliminary Com- mission on Disarmament held at Ge- of Nations. Two-Power Standard. ‘The probability of Great Britain availing herself of her rights undsr the through the without any agreement defi- dertake new construction on a scale of the French to have relatively strong disarmament conference. two countries could not join in the indifferent s to the level of limitation Regardless of the possibility of com- superior to the British navy. This was ment among Americ2, Eritain and A safeguarding or “escalator” clause automatically would raise the corre- couraged by the informal friendly ef- become parties to the London treaty, Hugh Gibsong(;gg the flnlbed?m neva under the auspices of the League escalator clause to break h the tonnage limits established at London last Spring depends less upon the pres- ent situation than upon France's inten- tions. It is true that the joint Pranco- Italian strengtl in submarines is already unpalats 3ly large—116,000 tons as compared wich 3,000 tor land. It is also a fact that the British strength in destroyers is somewhat below & two-power standard, the pro- OME—The Fields of Enna, which in the days of Siculi a1®1 later [ " farge crops of wheat, have been e of wl ve recently excavated, but as Siciltans of today also sow grain there the ex- cavations have been suspended in order not to interfere with the work of sow- ing. It was in these fair fields that Per- sephone, while gathering some flowers, was carried off by Pluto to the lower regions through a cave near ancient “Henna.” It was owing to the worship of Demeter Cora, during the early Siculian days and Demeter and Per- sephone in Greek days, that the city two famous temples to the goddesses so closely allied to agricul- ture. Temples of Goddesses Sought. Prom the seventh century before Christ on to Roman days the worship of these two goddesses was intensive. ‘The foundations of these two edifices have never been discovered, and it was for the purpose of finding them, as well as remains of other ancient build- ings, that the present excavations were begun last Summer. All that remains of past grandeur is the citadel, which resisted six sieges and was only taken by treachery. The reason it stands is that Manfred, King of the two Sicilles in the thirteenth century, repaired it as it is today. But it, too, is gradually falling into ruin. From ancient descriptions work was started this year on a search for the | Temple of Demeter, which was supposed to stand close to the so-called Rock of Cere. But search there resulted only in discovering a pile of rocks. It was ‘when the defense walls of the city were cleared that an ancient inscription in Greek was discovered. According to this the Temple of Demeter stood at a height of 997 meters above sea level, overlooking the surrounding country for_miles. Other excavations financed by the Magna Greca Soclety were undertaken at Lentini, one of the earliest Greek settlements on the island, and the only one which the colonists did not build overlooking the sea. They came from Naxos, under Theocles, in the eighth century betore Christ, and chose this site on two hills overlooking the small river Sissus. Erects Forum in Valley. In the valley between these hills t™ey erected their forum, the Senate and public buildings, while the temples and the residences were built on the hills. They were never politically imwportant, and were successively dominat:d, first, | by the tyrant Paneatius in the seventh century, and a century later by Tippo- crates, the tyrant of Gela. But no sooner had one dictator died than an- other took his place. So that follow- trial program for the current year calls for a 45 per cent increase in production. latitude of Junea is that of Edinburgh, the mean temperature of Sitka is about the same as that of Oslo, Norway. The ! Territory has constructed landing fields and airports. & We are told that the Nautilus will carry a supply of oxygen sufficient for | six days under the sea. According to a survey made by the ‘Travelers' Insurance Co., automotive- vehicle accidents (despite that automo- | tive-vehicle mileage seems to have de- clined about 10 per cent) in 1930 were more numerous by 12 per cent than those of 1929; deaths more numerous the total of deaths being 32,500 and of injuries 960,000. » * *x * ARGENTINA.—I spoke a fortnight ago of the British drive, headed by the Prince of Wales, for improving the lnrmlh share of Argentinian trade. to a dispatch from Buenos NOTES.—In an interesting speech the other day Stalin declared that Russia is in arrear of the rest of the world by 100 , but must and will catch up 0 ygars, ‘The spproved indus- by over 4 per cent and injuries by 13, | immediate future? Italy very recently has znnounced that she would match French new construction, ton for ton, 80 that the fate of the escalator clause lies more in French hands than any- where else. Feeling and Postcy Iadex. ‘We have an index of French feeling and policy with respect to the construc- tion of naval auxiliaries from their con- sistent action ever since the Washing- ton Conference in 1922. They then asserted most positively that the low quota accepted for capital ships would not be satisfactory when it came to the limitation of auxiliaries. A similar dec- laration was made by the French Sen- ate when the Washington treaty was ratified by it. ‘The French would not even join in the Coolidge Conference of 1927 called At Geneva to limit naval auxiliaries. At London in 1930 they would not recede from figures considered excessive by the British. More recently they have de- clined the Italian proposals as to parily between the two countries. Close observers feel that the French attitude on naval policy is now strongly influenced by their expectations as to German action at the forthcoming Gen- eral Disarmament Conference of the League of Nations, scheduled for Feb- to November -next, and it seems probable they will insist upon the right to arm themselves in proportion to the arma- ments of their neighbors. Fleet Means Security. Hence with the necessary money now available and a growing need of correct- ing unemployment, an early start in French naval building on a col ble during the occupation of “3reek | bul lonists scale should occasion no surprise. To the French naval power means more than the on of colonies and communica . It means some by strong British navy so close at her door both in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. But above all, to the French naval power means the ability to bring indis- gennhu army reinforcements from onh‘:m Africa for use in any major ‘war 7 mmdmmm considerations abstract ns for Eng- | and Temple.af .Greek Goddess Is Sought Among Ruins Found in Sicilian Fields ing Hippocrates they were dominated by uz‘: tyrants Gelon, Hiero and Thrasy- lus. importan town, which, while it regained its inde- pendence in the fifth century and be- came an ally of Athens, was once again subdued by Syracuse, its near neighbor. In the fourth century it revolted, har- bored another tyrant, Hicetas, and finally a century later was once again dominated by Hiero II, and only lost ite importance when it was taken by the Romans. Much has been excavated in Lentini, but the present work is impor- tant, as the entire defense walls of the much-contested city have all been iden- t.l.lledA and outlined. passed dying aphi- cal outline of the ancient city, which, according to anclent writers, lay south- west of the present town. Part of Old Wall Uncovered. It was on land owned by the profes- of the Greek walls were . Here ori| the Acropolis which defended the lower slopes on which the city was built. Fx- cavations of this kind have to be care- fully executed, and this was slow, but 1t is considered most important, as prac- tically the entire wall of the city was identified. The work will be continued in the Spring and Summer of next year. A excavation was begun at Monte Casale, in the district of Bus- cemi, which has been identified as the ancient Herbessus. Excavations were begun at a height of 2,500 feet where, not far from Monte Lauro, there is a above the valley of the Tellaro, Eer- minio and Anapo Rivers. Here in the seventh century before Christ a fortress was built, which kept the inland tribes from invading the citles between the mountains and the sea. These fortifications were exca- vated, and consist of huge blocks of lava stone, which must have been driven together 3 There still exist some towers which, along with the walls, extend for about a mile and a half. It required much time and patience to identify part of the wall. Nearby was excavated a necropolis, evidently Grecian, as evidenced by the funereal votive objects found in the tombs. It was in this district that last He admitted that the problem of satis- fact management still awaits a solu- tion. “Knowledge and technique, these must be acquired.” This he repeated again and again and again. “Justice” in Turkey still has some of the ancient bouquet. Seventy-eight persons were recen sentent to death hanging or to terms of imprisonment for participation in religious uprising/near Smyrna of last December which had in view restoration of the Caliphate and all its appurten- ances. Japan’s new capitol, crete structy 0 ¢ the equi cost is ne completion. Our eau of Standards have ated “rhenium,” one (now few) missi ments. it is rarer use ‘been found for it. It was t ited by German " Find Village Made of Huts. In one part of the inhabited area, under Greek foundat