Evening Star Newspaper, March 15, 1931, Page 38

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"3 DIPLOMATS IN CHINA -FEAR BOXER SPECTER Hesitant About Move to Nanking From Their at Present Protected Quarters. (Continued From First Pagi foreign society—with its mumbo-jumbo of catchwords, its vaunted immunity to Occidental bullets, its red sashes, its sharp curved swords—were encamped mmde the high southern wall of Wires Discovered Cut. ‘The first intimation of trouble came when lhs legations found that the tele- graph wires had been cut and they were out of communication with the world. A Japanese legation secretary volunteered—since none of the others were willing to offer—to leave for ‘Tientsin and inform his government that danger threatened. Unarmed, he walked out of the gate. A few moments later he stood facing a band of men with those sharp, curved Boxcr swords. Without trial they thoughtfully lopped off his arms, his ears, then his head. The Chinese government threw up its hands and advised the legations that it could no longer protect them if they remained. They must pack and leave at once-for Tientsin. It promised them an escort. The ministers plenipoten- mry ‘met in conclave to discuss the of- fer. ‘To weigh the obvious danger of be massacred—were such an un- wieldy caravan to leave the small shelter they possissed—against the chances of gaining Tientsin, 90 miles distant. Ninety miles of thoroughly hostile country! Several of the legates grew hysterical. In the midst of their argument Baron von Kettler, the German Minister, rose and announced that he had an ap- pointment with the Chinese foreign office. He would go to Tsung Li Yamen and remonstrate with him. The others attempted to dissuade him. He replied bluffly that he had no intention of al- lowing the government of China to think fear had kept him from meeting his appointments. Without escort, but in his official red and green sedan chair, he calmly set forth. An hour later his outrider, badly ‘wounded, staggered irto Legation street. A volley had been fired upon the chair of Baron von Kettler, riddling it. The Minister had been seen to slump shekp- ly forward * * * Von Kettler never re- turned. After that demonstration of Chinese treachery no more was said of fleeing. Unlike the Chosen People out of Egypt, the legations felt that they could place no dependence upon miracles. They were further hampered by the influx of foreigners dwelling in Pcking— merchants and missionaries—and by hundreds upon hundreds of Chinese who had “eaten the foreign religion.” 'me converts hroufht with them hair- , blood-curdling stories of Boxer fes perpetrated upon Christian converts. Some of them were stark mad from the horrors they had wit- nessed. Many bore on their bodies the wounds of the “Harmonious Fists,” as the Boxers ealled themselves. Cathedral Set Afire. while the legations were still whether they would be be- llufld or whether the menace would like an evil dream, l great arrow of arose to the east. The Tung T East Rom mumw Cathe- , Was set afire. Since the cathedral ‘was known to be packed and crammed wiih converts, a group of vol- llllhn was organized to attempt a res- Soldlers, ies, legation sec- mhri- mxmerchl men, they set out, A rescue of sorts was effected, a few and converts being found. But m had gained mo much hwdny teers dis- eonud that the hhu ’ud been started he | fense—they were able to m.m. lfllr na t, lol- 2005 of the low Mlm fii'r! and rplualy watched their distant in lurid, ochre smoke. And kwn the wind shifted they could hear the deep, blood- curdling roar of the Boxers, reiterating the t"‘? M “Sha—Shaol” (“Kill- more Chinese converts mnered mm '.hg legations, their ulu mm crescendo of horror. Scoutl m nx , cautiously pene'n nnr- lanes, !ound uvcnl or nar- ro' ‘hutu; passable. ohoulder h h with muti- Boxer victd hluom lon an fflemhly to iceless Oriental embroidered altar h lll were mlhlassly sacrificed to | zun sandbags. Night and day the ‘women of the Luuam worked on these. On two sides the legations were walled. But the great city wall on the south, which was in their possession, was | menaced by the higher gate towers of Hata and Chien Men, which were held the Boxers. The north wall was that | a palace of a Manchu prince. It| lhuuofl the leln:u legation. At first it was thought that the palace wall would be a defense, but the Japanese s0on found that their neighbor, the im- perial prince, was harboring scores | upon scores of Boxers. At some dis- tance from the wall, therefore, they threw up breastworks. Their force was | itiably small, vedettes of but two cr &n. men at 50-foot intervals—and an | ammy io oppose. Barrier of Sandbags. The eastern and western faces of the %egation quarter were completely un- rotected. The western area was man- ied by Americans and Russians, whose legations were nearby. They made a| \lrrhr of sandbags and overturned | carts. At the eastern face lay tlu Ttalian legation. Here were dumped more sandbags and carts. The Ministers squabbled painfully smong themselves, Each refused to give an fota of his prerogatives. For a| &c none would permit his portion of | | the defense to be put in the hands of & | single generalissimo. hm\ll{ it was | -flud at an Austrian colonel, the highest ranking soldier among the de- fense forces, should take command. The Austrian signalized his rise to wer by abruptly ordering that the ruan legation to the east be aban- doned. To be given up without a shot being fired by the enemy! Before an inner line of ‘defense could be erected! The order was so supremely asinine M even the Chinese could not credit :nd did not take advantage of the ing. A uick massing of only 3 of the ur forces at that nmnt and the siege would have been over, the legations captured. The remainder of that night and day cursing men toiled feverishly to bulld the necessary inner defense. When the Chinese finally discovered that the Ttalian legation had been abandoned they set fire to it. The fire spread g threatened the entire quarter, The | l&“uen—locnud in the very | o-mt of quarter and fammed with non-combatants because of its suj a)poled nlety—-clulm fire. labored valiantly to put out the hm. ‘They were assisted by a npum- ber of men—able-bodied but with singu- small stomach for warfare—and the was quenched. during any pertion of the en- tire the lnuium wcu not taken ean be Otulb\lhfl only to the obscure t Providence, follow were she to give the fatal order. It was known that she encouraged the Boxers, lent them troops, furnished them with ammunition, food and money. But she kept up the face-gain- device whlch was later to save her from betn ?os‘d by the powers: that of wng in the grip- of superior (om of the Harmonious PFists. Unusual Orders Given. Once she haughtily commanded the Boxers to cease firing, because she wish- ed to go on a plenic on the Imperial Lake. The sound of gunfire would have marred a sylvan scene. On another occasion, when she heard that in Tient- sin—which was having its siege, too— the Taku Forts had fallen to ‘the for- eigners, she promptly cgused a great arcel of food and melons to be put gether. These she ordered thrown over the imperial palace well abutting the Japanese legation. The food was accompanied by a bland message from her to the legates, trusiing they were in good health. Their health was not good. Food was running very short, thanks to thz encrmaus gongregation of Chinese Christian converts who must be fed. Since the legations were completely cut off from the world, they tried des- perately to get messengers through the enemy lines. It was rumored that there was a rescuing army coming up from Tientsin under Admiral Seymour. Some one must reach the admiral and im- plore him to hurry—lest there be no more legations to rescue. Two Chinese converts volunteered to try to slip through the Boxer lines. They were caught. The Boxers buried them, just out of gun rnnfie but in full view of the defenders, in a fleld south of the city wall. The burial was of their bodies, to their necks. The foreigners helplessly ntched day after day, as those he: blackened and rolled piteously in the sun, attacked by countless flies. At m?ht during lulls in the firing, they could hear the dis- mal groans of the wretched pair. At last the groans ceased. The slege went on, week after week, The defenders became more and more highly keyed. They hegan firing at shadows, recklessly wasting their scanty supply of ammunition, The enemy soon learned this and began to bait them. At night torches were cautiously pushed around the walls of Chinese huts where the Boxers were massed. Were the torches a signal for the dreaded mass attack, the defenders asked themselves. With their nbrves screaming, they sent whole volleys chunking into the mud- brick walls of these huts. During the day red Boxer caps were elevated on poles, to be thoroughly dusted by the bullets of the legationaries. No Guard Relief System. With the exception of the orderly Japanese, there was no system of guard relief. Men at the most important posts were kept there 40 and 50 hours before they were remembered and their places taken by others. Time and time a they drifted off into helpless sleep. Only that same Chinese obtuseness which had saved the defenders at the time of the abandcnment of the Italian legation_staved off an inevitable rush by the Boxers. In contrast with these, other men could be seen punctiliously dressing for dinner and idling away an_evening in the shelter of the British legation—as calmly as though they were not threat- ened by death in its most malignant form. Bach legation had its quota of such men. They were not pacifists from any stern sense of conscience; they were individuals who preferred to keep their skins whole and to let the other man do thelr fighting for them. And—so chaotic was the management of the 3&; ? shirk in egreglous manner. In their evening dress, therefore, they dined punctiliously on mule and ce & daring Boxer slipped into the very midst of the legations and started a brisk panic among the re- ma unslaug] hured animals. The herd 150 Klr'hu ponies and mules screamed and dashed madly back and forth through the . They tram- led horribly over tighly packed gs of helpless Chinese converts, ‘women and children. siege_was definitely under way before Hsu Tung, a certain high Man- chu court official dwelling in the Lega- tion Quarter, saw fit to leave. He had sKlenly boasted that he would line the les of his sedan chair with the tanned hides of the foreign men and take such of the foreign women as pleased him for his seraglio. A system of passes had been devised to check the too easy exit of possible spies. Hsu Tung managed to obtain his pass from a flulurod French legation. Calmly he appeared at the barricades and waved the bit of official stamped paper before the noses of the angry, bafled men on guard. His sang froid did not desert him until he was well outside the line of sandbags. Then he was seen to pick up his long robes and scuttle madly into the shelter of a de- terted Chinese hut held by the Boxers. Honeycomb of Spies. In spite of their system of {nuu the Ieg-uom were honeycombed with spies— in the guise of Chinese converts. Why these spies, aware of the appalling | weakness of the defense, did not per- suade the Boxers to attack is one of the many insoluble mysteries of the siege. | It was not frcm any fear on the part of the attackers; times without number the Boxers showed themselves brave to the point of foolhardiness. In the legation buildings the envoys themselves spent the greater vortion of their time writing dispatches to the Chinese government. ese screeds ran a wide gamut from the beliicose to the sheerly craven. It was as fruitless a task as ever men set for themselves— but the habits of diplomacy were strongt Not a single dispatch was ever acknow! edged by the Chinese government, The one resolute legate, Von Kettler, who might have brought some order out of the binding chzos had gone to meet his ancestors. Ordeve were issued in conflicting tongues—Italian, Russian, English, German. They were given, and 10 minutes Jater countermanded-— until the bewildered and weary men at the barricades became frantic. Under the strain. the clash of leader- ship. the constant menace of total an- nihilation, men and women went raving mad. Their shouts and sobs and moans added little to the slares of coura husbanded by the saner ones. And, never ceasing came thl! deadly irritant, the rifie fire of the Boxers. They had given up their curved swords, excepc !or u'l:mn' at close quarters, and en to high-powered Mannlicher rmu furnished them by the Empress Dowager. At times the bullets swept through the quarter in clouds, denuding the trees of the legation gardens. Night and day that harrying rifie blast gave the de- fenders no peace. Fortunately for the defense, the main body of Chiness were never gquite able to master these weapons. Many of the Boxers had tha habit of blandly fiving into the air, in the belief that the bullet, | 3 when it dropped, would create havoe that was intended. Fire Opened by llouvl. morning the Boxers on Uu legations with a l\nldp lut nn onnoepnnn of the laws tory, the shells went ripping ln!o the Imperial Plhu lvaundl o the intense annoyance Empress mfi.-w.}w;é:‘; e mnd“a_m e S the | Protestant _misslonaries the mncuuu THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHI\TGTON B, 05 duty 30 were given a chnwo to rest. rest which is unbroken by whine of bullet or shout of sha—shao! ‘The legations were not alone in their g:mumemk ‘The Weést Roman Catholic fhedral also was besieged by the Boxers, Their attempts to burn it, as they had done with the East Cathedral, were thwarted by heroic fathers of a church militant. Torch after torch of mables was thrown into the ca- nndul compound only to be extin- unl n( the caf In the East City a unull ‘:::;n fused to seek shelter in the hnmm also barricaded themselves and fought a similar fight. When the rescue came they, as well as the East Oathedral, were found to have weathered the typhoon. The rescue was on & strict parity with the slege. The same Alice-in-Wonder- land touch. It was one of the finest examples extant of non-co-operation. Ostensibly the relieving forces were under Admiral Seymour of the British Navy; actually they were divided into national units, each jealously com- manded. This army traveled up from Tientsin not only at the pace of the slowest, but of the most unwilling. It halted for days at a time while the commanders bickered and fought for precedence. Tired in Course of Time. Even with its hesitations it could not remain on the hoof forever. Yet only when the walls of Peking were in sight did it bestir itself. A British Punjab company was the first to afrive at the legations, through the Water Gate. They entered with hardly a shot being fired to oppose them. The Boxers were tao busy cast- irg away their red insignia and melting into the protective coloration of the Peking countryside. Not one in a thousand of the Boxers were ever punished. ‘The vengeance fell—as is 5o often the case with an inoffensive citizenry—upon the Chinese dwellers in Peking. Already they had been disgracefully looted by the Boxers on the excuses that they were harboring Chinese Christian con- verts. Now they were looted on the pre- text that they were sheltering Boxers. Van loads of objets de vertu were shipped to Shanghai and to Europe. Those same gentlemen who had distin- E:Bhed themselves during the siege by e intensity of their unwillingness to fight suddcnly grew swashbuckling. Astounding their courage as they smashed their way into silent court- yards! The basis of several large Ocei- ental fortunes was laid at this time. Orders, strict orders, were issued by the Ministers that loo’,lnf must be stopped. But since the defenders had grown accustomed, out of sheer self- reservation, to disobcy all commands that the legates promulgated, these also were ignored. The siege was over and the final pages apparently written in as sorry a volume of history as has ever been re- corded. But only apparently. The siege remains, graven with peculiarly powerful acid, ol E every foreign heart. That most sacred of beings, the envoy, had been shown not to be in the least sacred in Chinese eyes. The whole smn:tuu of diplomacy had received the edge of an ax at its foundation. The legend of the siege, instead of sinking into the category of & thrice-told, half- forgotten tale, takes on new life from ear to year. A dozen times in China have heard the quavering nm hecy | “If Tuchun So-and-So bri his army here we'll have another Boxer siege, mark my words!” And the words wtre not only marked but nfloull)' credil In Nanking I hlve talked with con- suls and commercial men who shook their heads and said to me wutlully “I wish I were h‘&mlmtd Jto Pekin, This place is a regular In Icmnc chunlklnx And Foochow I have heard the same fear expressed, the same plalnt voiced. vl{x‘lm the foreigners ery. Give us w8 Noted Briton Asks Will World Disarm (Continued From Third Page.) mpslnl of the treaties which have I am not discussing lhe rights or wrongs of these forces. I am con- cerned only to rotm out that they have to no small extent gripped the mind of the people and led to definite mlltlcal results. And nobody could ld that international conciliation was among their main objects. I believe that the same can ‘be done for peace. I helieve it to be wholly false to pretend that peace is so dis- tant and theoretical that it cannot be related to the real human needs of men and women in every country. I would for instance, defend the propo- sition that to secure in 1932 a general disarmament treaty involving real re- duction of the numbers and cost of armies, navies and air forces is far more likely to bring security, prosperity and employment to the average man in Germany, France, Italy or the British Empire than a blind policy of re-arming in Germany—or of economic nationalism in Britain—or of extensive frontier fortifications in Prance—or of “sacred” egotism in Italy. Peace Up to the People. 1 would say the same of a policy of securing from ,our governments the signature of 'sound, all-embracing treaties of arbitration; or agreements to co-ordinate International eredit; or of a whole-hearted determination to improve the standards of labor through the International Labor Organization. Now, our edifice of peace will be as fragile as a glass house if it is built by a handful nr politicians and specialists unable to carry through measures of re- form imposed by the logic of interna- tional debate, simply because of the in- difference and 1Efll’nnc! of their peo- les. It must broad—it must be Elud upon the people's will. Buccess in the organization of peace gendl upon -F r not to the elite, but to the ordinary citizen; upon giv- ing the ordinary eitizen something to hear and to do at his ewn doorstep; upon the moral preparation of religious teaching and sound political theory; upon purging the schools of the false nationallsm which distorts history; and, on the intellectual basis thus cleared of incumbrances, the framing of a con- structive rl’onlm which proposes the attainment of certain quite specific ob- jects, treaties, conventions or laws, one at a time. countries, the persistent action in the localities upon their representatives in Parliament. Suggests Citizens Act. I have already suggested what I lieve to be the first and obvious abjn- tive which such organized bodles of opinion should pursue in 1931; it s to make sure that their overn-nenu will write the lowest possible figures into the draft treaty of disarmament recent- l&‘ ‘awn up at oanavn Here is some- m which the people can make or "¢ the treaty, when finally adopted in year's time, visibly and wmlgenbly armaments of nations, we shall have struck the atest blow in history at international suspicion and the war spirit. If the treaty merely re~ cords the flllun’ inequalities of na- tional forces stabilizes them at their present fantastic level, I tremble for the future of the whole structure of lnunulhnll peace. Let the cause be referred ta the peoples. 1t is for them e An Enigma. ’ From the Albsny Evening News. The ;‘Wmm to w«__ the COPS BY BRUCE BARTON. 8 we drove along beside the Hudson River we noticed a crowd at one of the piers. A dis- couraged gentleman had at- tempted to drown himself. Dripping and dejected, he sat on an empty barrel, while the cc{) who had pulled him out of the water talked to him like a big brother. Presently the patrol wagon arrived to take them away, the cop still uttering words of lrlendfy en- couragement. At a busy corner stood & woman with a baby in her arms and a youngster tugging at her skirt, anxiously viewing the torrent of trafiic, afraid to plunge in. The cop in the middle cf the street sighted her, and raised his arm with a knightly ture. The city stopped while the timid little mother crossed over. It was late at night. On the steps of a residence, the win- dows of which were shuttered, a man ‘vas slouched in an ob- vious state of intoxication. A cop touched him on the shoulder. They held a brief conversation. Presently the cop halled a taxi, loaded the inebrlnad citizen' in it, gave instructions to the taxi driver, and the taxi drove away. These incidents, occurring within my own sight and close together, reminded me that I have long intended to write a little something about Cops. I have been g respectful ad- mirer of them for.years. They are so good looking physieally, s0 even tempered, so courteous and so sensible. Doubtless there is an occa- sional grafter among them; no large group of men in any profession is free from black sheep. But I have never kl?:toan of any cop who died T I admire most of all thelr self-possession and the sound common-sense way in which they go abcut their work. Adlai E. Stevenson, once Vice President of the United States, used to quote a friend’s re- mark that “the constitution of Illinois is an almost perfect document, but it should have one additional paragraph. It should provide for an appeal !rcm the Supreme Court, to two justices of the peace.” he idea was that when all the high-priced lawyers and judges had finished their legal wrangling, then a couple of country chaps should render a final decision on the basis of simple common sense. I recall that remark when- ever I see a cop calmly taking testimony and dispensing jus- tice in a traffic case. feel then like adding a‘paragraph to my will, to read: “In ecase of any dispute among my heirs, the whale matter shall be submitted to the nearest traffic policeman, ;alnd1 his decision shall be nalt (Copyright, 1931.) N LATIN AMERICA By GASTON NERV AL, JOHN BULL'S EXHIBIT. MIDST colorful ceremonies, significance of which was en- hanced by .his royal presence there, the Prince of Wales officially inaugurated ter- day in Buenos Aires the huge lere Trade Exhibition, which is intende give back to Great Britain hfl lost com- mercial supremacy in Latin America. The exhibit houses $20,000,000 worth of British samples, ranging from tacks to rolling stock. Automobiles, trucks, motor busses, airplanes, electrical equip- ment, chemical products and other ar- ticles in which Gm'« Britain's trade has been lagging in Argenting occupy the largest sf official figures, 800 British manufac- turers have spent 85,000,000 to 1 would add, in democratic | b‘glu their wares. e cost of the exhibition buildings alone amounted to $2,500,000. Press 1¢ announce that during the “fair” the British aireraft carrier Eagle will be on display in Buenos Alres Harbor, with the latest war planes fiying about it. Ever since the mission of British economists headed by lord d'Abernon returned from South America, last year, and advised a commercial exhibit in Buenos Alres as one of the best means for getting larger markets in thz West- ern Hemisphere, British manufacturers undertook enthusiastically the prepara- tion of a gigantic empire trade ex! bition. His Royal Majesty's govern- ment felt itself obliged to help this undertaking, of such vast importance for the future of British export trade, and trebled its original contribution to the project. Finally, British statesmen added a further element of success to the exhibition by securing the presepce of H. R. H. the Prince of Wales for the spectacular opening cersmonies. TRADE COMPETITION. ‘This British exhibition, like the Prince of Wales' South American visit, like the previous tour af the d'Abernon mission, is only angsher step in a long series of efforts to sell British goods to the Latin Americans. Since the World War disorganized the commerce of Great Britain and Uncle lace in the Latin American markets, British statesmen have been concerned with the future of their export trade. Realizing how much this will depend upon the Latin American demand for British products, lhe{ have decided lately to reconquer their lost leadership in some of the larger southern markets. In Argentina alone, where the Empire Exhibit will be held, the losses of Brit- ish trade have been considerable since the war. In 1913 the United Kingdom furnished 31 per cent of the goeds bought abroad by Argentina, as com- pared with only 14.7 per cent from the United States. Fifteen years later the British percentage had dropped to 19.4 v cent, while that of the United tates had climbed to 25.4 per cent. am took first 1027 were valued at $209,757,000, while in 1913 they had amounted to only $72,000,000. Not even in the depres- slon year of 1930 were the large ad- vances of American sales endangered. And all this in spite of the preponder- ance of British capital and banks. in Argentina. the fact that Great Britain exceeds the United States as a cus- tomer of the Argentine and the fact that London's free trade policy is more to the Argentine's liking than Washing- ton's protective tariff. To this chan, xu of commercial leader- uhlr’ in Latin America from John Bull ncle Sam several factors have con- tributed. the construction of the Panama Canal, the difference in conditions brought about by the World War, the continu- ous investment of American Ptul the steady development of agriculture, mine and other industries in the Latin republics, the latters' increased pur- chasing power and their ever-f mwm demand for manufac of which are produced in ag the chief agents in that change. | Secretary of Commerce Lamont adds | three other elements to explain Ameri- | can supremacy. Service, enterprise and low cost o{ goods. he recently said, will cantinue to be determining facters in will continue to find them exemplified in American methods. GOOD WILL AND GOODS, Although official declarations from American statesmen contend that Auer. ican interests in Argentina will l}o appreciably affected by Great Britain's present epdeavors, certain mnvu n- cently m-de by the utwnfmmm.t country seem to Unole Sam is well aware n! lhn 1mwruau such competition and is ready to up the chnllenn t.luu are the two fi udnmod the matter olfimu’u the at- tors ds. According to un-f T United States exports to Argentina in In a previous article I listed South the Argentine market, and Argentines, titude of the United States toward her southern neighbors and the announce- ment of the withdrawal of the marines from Nicaragua, both tending to gain the good will of the Latin Americans and facilitate a better inter-American understanding. Not long ago I had occasion to com- ment upon value of this political undeuumunl in promoting greater econamic tions and upon the bene- fits 'hll.‘h will be dcflved in this .con- nection from the two latest moves of the State Departmen In the way of practical measures two other instances stand out as showing the eagerness of the United States preserve its interests in entina. One of them is the ap] x;%prh unoth.l(n million dollars uc!’nflym‘\g Department of Commerce 'fl strengthen commercial relations wit! Latin America, One of the chief rea- sons for this appropriation, whi already been granted, was stated to the necessity of nmlnflnc cg:-nmgrchl attache in B er trade agents in d! thc Argenunc Republic. The officers of tment thus showed thn Lhey did not overlook the impor- tance of a more complete and more accurate contact with conditions pre- vuhng in the largest South American e other step which has been in- terpreted as a counter move by the United States in this growing commer- cial rivalry with European powers that are aiming to endanger its leadership in Argentina is the recent acquisition of a palatial home in Buenos Aires for its Ambassador there. Besides this resi- dential palace, which cost almast o and @ If million dollars, an eight- story office building will be erected near by to provide working quarters for the Ambassador, his staff and other government representatives, such as De- partment of Commerce trade agents, etc. By these scts, according to urafs reports, the United States may be to have served notice of its permanent interest in Argentina. Uncle Sam cannot afford to be idle when Great Britain sends down her chief salesman to sell British good will and British-manufactured goods in Buenos Aires. COMMERCIAL WINGS. Warning of s menace to United Btates u'lde in Latin-American coun- tries through the expandipge aviation enterprises of Great Britaln, PFrance, Italy and Germany, a member of the House of Representatives' Committee on Forelgn Affairs urged a few days ago that American air lines to the rich and vast markets on the other side of the Rio Grande be increased and developed @s fast ‘as possible. “Qur greatest commercial concern les [ i in the countries on the east coast of South America,” said Representative Maas. “It is in this area that the i and mogt fertile trade opportu- nities are located. It is in this area that our strongest Eurcpeln competitors are now making a drive for additional markets.” He had just completed a study of ‘avi- ation possibilities along the lines eov- ered by the seryices of the Pan-Ameri- can Airways Carporstion, which con- trols the largest aerial network in the world, and, being himself a licensed pllot, he emphasized the importance of aerial communications in deciding this starring competition for the southern markets. Representative Maas pointed out that the French will soen install an all-aiy- plane mail service between France and America, abandoning the use of crulsers from that continent to Africa; that, the Germans are making a com- m'rcul gesture t.hrou h the impending flight of the giant flying boat DO-X to South A-urlnu. that ttu Italians huvc already scored vnh their flight of 1 seaplanes hom xll mcmc Qun Britan u al commergial am! ul Wales, on a noo% -will tour of Bouth Ameriea which imitted ta be seme- thing more than a mere diplomatic ges- ure. “It is plain,” he stated, “that Euro) is knocking at the door of the m;"n east coast for orders. Th Thabentod That he weakly Aismel sugges! weekly airmal - hu“o( the Pan-American Ve flor, pletiop of this service through to Bue- nos Aires should recelve serious and immediate study. No forward-looking Amnlun states- man will fail to nco{‘n t Repre- sentative Maas is right whcn he savs that “our airmalil service is one af the take | best means we can employ to meet the efforts of our trade opponents." THE RACE ll DN. ‘Undoubtedly, it is wif B ey S T B LR MARCH 15, 1931—PART TWO. ]r m‘ to the State Btrrh it of a commer~ l oy lor ofll will ':l E"un Amer- ica. In an accoun! ot the nfinfiu nx?"wfl'uon. :nti view to :W punbumu oz Conunent. leaders of the Aeronautic Asso- cln.ion asked that their efforts to in- crease the Latin American market for airplanes and aerial equipment made in the United States be accorded the proper ration by Washington au- horities. ey added that this co- operation was nw more necessary t.hln ovel b of the European c tion, which has bnn partlmlllfly nn dut the last i s, udun.;' to uc thh eau tlnvl. “‘conside by nt of !hl pmllhlm.y of & nt .fo‘.'t""‘ the interested ad- ministrative de) ents and the in- dustries toward the organisation of a commereial mlulnn of will to the countrh Cen! end South Almnlt t the same time the United States Chamber of Commerce in a mave for better understanding with Araamlm hu invited the Argentine [r)tl Commerce, Industry and Production, vhl.ch is saild to have been advocating the rchase of British s, to send delegates to the cham- s ‘annual meeting in Atlantic_City next April and to the sessions of the International Chamber Commerce, which convenes in w“mflnon in May. It has also béen announced that at the completion of the latter meeting a group of distinguished business leaders will "visit Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile and Peru in an effort to create greater interes, in the work of that chambet. Evidently these are all different moves of a competitive campaign on the part of this country and the Euro- fenn powers to better their positions in he Latin American market. The race is on, and it remains now to be seen if British princes, Italian planes, French courtesies and German novelties can do more than American enterprise and methods. (Copyright, 1931.) Wealth Is Produced By Sponge Fishing One of the most captivating indus- tries of the French North African coast is sponge fishing. It brings wealth to those regions, as the total sponges ex- ported every year amount to a hun- dred tons and are sold at $8,000 a ton. Sfax is the main sponge market of the Mediterranean. The best sponges are fished off the coast of Sfax upon a large submarine bank, where they are plentiful. The fishing season lasts from December to April. The queer animal plant comes out of an egg and then 'llnders for five or six days in quest ‘ support. When it has found one it elings to it and for two years grows steadily, mt the end of which time it reaches its normal size, which varies from 15 to 20 inches in circumference. Spange fishing has been practiced from time immemorial by the natives, who do it in the most primitive way. They fil-m a heavy stone upon their hndl ie & rope to their waist and dive into le water from their boats. times they go down 180 feet, the spon s around them, place them et, cast off the lwne that wels hed them down and climb up again by means of the mPe Sicilian nahe'rmen, who are not divers, choose high spots where they can pluck the sponges from their small boats with the aid of long tridents. There is alko, of course, a 'gmr- modern way of sponge fishing, wi dMnl helmets, mostly used by Greeks. ather gll Political Parties in the United States. In connection with the lntln'or y munl the Publ u ubury to the following hooks on nnlluul plmu old and new: General Works. The American Party Battle, by C. A. + Beard. 1928. JUB83.B35, Amierica’s great advocate of the eco- nomie u‘f‘""'fi'"“? “thgmzry vrlt;,l “'a popular review of party ref- aced ‘:w a chapter on the mmr‘: of party and eancluded by a brief predie- ton of future trends.” American Parties and Pdlmu, by H. Q. Bruce. 10827. JUB83.] “It is forceful in .xphnaflnn and not elog with extraneous matter; it ve- veals a wide and sane appreciation of the development of parties, their organ- ization and activities. Best of all, it is unb Party Govemment in the United States, by J. W. Davis. 1829, JU83.D29p. ‘The Stafford Little Lectures for 1929 delivered at Princeton University, and dealing with the place of the party in American life, and party principles, leaders and nominations. The American Party System, by C. B. Merriam. 1920, JU83.Mb554a. “It would be hard to think of an es- sential feature of our lities and fl:mn on wlzlch information may not found in this volume, all of it put forward in loslcll order and clarity of expression." Woodburn. The Evolution of American Political leu by E. E. Robinson. 1824. Dupnc uu tone of scientific dis- ou! that pervades the worl American Parties and llecfinm, by E. M. 8 1927. JUB83. ‘Readable throughout, rtnklod with shrewd insights into realities of our po- litical game, and with more than an occasional pna behind the scenes, Prof. Salt has writfen the most comprehe: sive and informing survey of th Bradl “Whil gnizing th tmpolllhmiy of analyzing puhltc men or discussing political causes and results without ere- ating controversy, the effort in this book is at last to keep such analysis and discussion free from partisan bias. The purpose is not to glorify the Demoa- cratic p.rby. but to tell the truth about it.” The Story of the Democratic Party, by Henry Minor. 1928. JUS3D.M66s. A partisan history—"as it is the rec- ord of the judgments of the American people for much more than half their | s existence as & Nation, the history of the Democratic party Js worth welghty eon- sideration.” The u:rublmn Party; a Hubry. by W, 8. Myers. 1928, 83R.MO0r. "A candid and unreserved h-en.m-nt Some- | the “highwa; I'TRUTH ABOUT WOMEN AS SEEN BY WRITER E. Phillips Oppenheim’s Conclusions ’ Expected to Bring Storm of Criticism and Objection. Here’s to the Ladies! We are not going to let Mr. E. Phillips Oppenheim have the fnal word in this argument— at least, not without giving the women & chance to be heard. “There a@re many Bernard Shaws and very few Rebeoca Wests,” says Mr. Oppenheim in this article, which he calls “The Truth About Women.” But this same Rebecca West isn't so sure that his essay i3 the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So Eng- land’s _ famous woman movelist and critic _has decided to an- swer Mr. Oppenheim. Her bril- lant, thaugnt-pmuakug .mcu will ‘appear in The Star Sunday. ___(Continued From First Page.) of humanity, justified in aeupunt these' stupendous sacrifices? Are we justified in accepting these rich gifts of a lazier and freer life offered I:)uu-, alas, at their own expense. by sisters, wives, sweethearts and mistresses? . Let us consider the matter from a road, common-sense point of view, l have a friend named Willlam Strube, who lives in the neighborhood ef Nor- bury, Every morning he rises at half- past seven, swallows a more or less fllhhy breakfast, kisses his wife in the passage and catches the 8:20 train to the city. From 9:30 until 6:30—with a brief interval for lunch, generally eaten in company with fellow slaves— he adds “&,2"" into cash i in short, he performs the offices of & mercantile clerk. AT E '”3““"'& or & clerk— say, > sition is secure or lo fl\n «um leteness of hh lverm quulty—hh wi u mh Very Bum are of tl mental force u spent for nine hours dnrm the day upon those figures whose lflcllml V!fl'l regard to 1 ter- nates with the closing of his ledgers. Blur that in mind for a few minutes, please. Now suppose that his name is Al- fred Strube uulaa of William—i there are just as many Alfreds as liams who, catch thn early morn! Mtrvd arrives at his office, ing to Ihe nature of Q.h: has to sell, and off he 'Ml thmu h and bmn of the ecity m;. eyen into the country to dispose of wares. Must Sell Goods He propably takes his morn with & possible customer, junches with another. Nothin tain than this—every uwunt of his brain power, every fi it of his in- tzm.mca durln' that long nnd some- times weary day's work must be de- voted to one objeet and one ob!ect only —the selling of wmllr lrut nmny of microbe iwl each morning up to the unmm oF Tife 1o thelr appointed tasks may, in these days of condensation and the blue peneil, be treated as one. '.l'ho main _ difference between them '.helrmhumhlnr mpae"r; is fl:} t.hn are in a E‘ut e a on a 'et mern and a certain numbes of married § judiciiously own muumhu Much lrllll Needed Here are to be found the merchants, the professional men, the stockbrokers and the vast eager-footed crowd who are described as being “something in thc city.” Belll\e me, no concentration whiclr” they axact tmm their under- llnn is equal to the brain foree which they t.hem;lvu are compelled to exer- clse to their-places wif t dis- aster in their own pecyliar occupation. Theye are no easy jobs left In the warld except the 's, who is oyt~ | Pra; side human life (and even hn some- times complains). unterer crashes, the man who looks hthlnd is down the e cover his 1cst footstep. ‘The brains of these men, too, are flung on to the flaming pyre of pnb- able .uzeul ‘They cannot barter wi God! in give—what they have to give—and they go home to K gton or Golders Green out to dinner and hold their own a mixed company as best they may, !.h whaat remains in their tired minds of inspiration and spontaneity. Back to Mrs. Strube And now back again for a moment to Mrs. William Strube, to Mrs. Alfred Strube—the hyphenated ladies will come later. ~ With the departure of their husbands the two former ladies have ten hours of liberty. Even if they live in a town there is a p-rt near for the bies, 15 & char wnm.n ittle servant-maid. At the worst nme is for them four or five hours of free from the {A‘:‘eu;ny of concentral upon any- 'rhn thoughts of humans, normally lnnkinl, float upvl-n‘l ‘Women, left themselves, are likely to think—well, to think :lunly The Lo‘y of m- is bmn !maon. Mrs. Strube has it. Mr. asn't! N-wnlly she becomes hh inullntull m reads at all, in trade journals of Nl sporting notes and ane the !nwm priced newspaper. She nu. of ravel and sunshine in other eountries. Visits Free Library. She finds, time to visit the free library, she has leisure to yead of the world which flows beyond the gray horizon of her waking and sleeping vision. And so a few miles westward, Mr. Harrington-Strube, when the breathless day is over, reads l igar Wallace, but Mrs. Harrington-Strube prefers Gals- worthy. Mr. Vavasour-Strube aspires h Arnold Bennett, but Mrs. Vavasour- trube pores over the luun Russian novulln. whom she finds so ilMluminat- . t ean't be helped, In Syburbia are beaten in Lhe” BT ‘il! wives, are nope B rs of a century of par- |t uun o Remiiicaniam dl Wits, any pa embodiment and expression of funda- mental measures and prineiples of re- form that have been advoca for many years by all political partles.” ents Since the Civil ipecial Reference to Haynes. 1916. JUS: dent pa; twe of fluj:nm. up pl’gld:x‘l‘“ “- didates uhonl Republican movement, the hr- mers' n«nlun the Greenback ment, the Populist movemgnt an Fulunlvu ‘movement. ial Politics in the United States, by ‘nling 1924. JUIa H336s. gcu ot nochl and economis :‘l:;a;‘l ng to the forma- the thesis :‘ ‘h’l mwmn experiments to c rpmutorms terpreta- early in Progressive Movement, by B. P. to 19 83.D51 garments. nt ta l as !mvlhhh llu\r own !n :‘ ;::I‘ ir wamen where MW' B hmumm , posts ledgers, dives | th ned caldron of polmcnl party expe- m:yl The member of Parliament sighs over their ashes, develops a new Ecmpodty and orders white edgines to is walstcoats. Even Lady Astor would be better out of it. Art and Literature. There remain art and literature. These, 8t least, in life are automatic. Genjus knows no sex and all doors are open. Count for lves how many women have lifted the curtain to dis- close the immortal treasures of the world beyond the eyes. Music! Her fingers are capable. She has sat through the melody-changing years side-by-side with Wi r, Schumann and Beethoven, 8 ear, the spirit of receptivi the leisure to devel such stirrings as she may feel of genius, What she has done she has done. . Literature! What do my bookshelves lack, I wonder? I start there in my left-hand corner nearest my easy chair and I make loitering progress. Shake- speare, Borrow, Johnson, og;ulley, Keats, yron, Defoe, Browning, Elizabeth Bar- rett Browning, Walter Pater, Cervantes, Quincey, Hazlitt, Lamb, Le Gal- llenne, Galsworthy, William Morris, Conrad, O. Henry, Ruskin, Swinburne, Tennyson, Milton, Ceriyle, Thackeray, Coler Immortals surely. But how selfishly masculine. Times Are Changing. ‘The times are changing. Perhaps. But to what extent? Rebecca West may plunge from the rocks of Antibes into the warm south seas hand-in-hand with Berpard Shaw, his fellow in genius, although in rnlnor details she may seem, in comparisan, fo be u little overclothed; Bu: 5: yho:.:hd it hnrnhhc: the cult of leny there are ma: Bernard Shaws and very few mc:{ Wests. We humble and earnest readers bow the knee to Sheila Kay-Smith, to Mary Borden, to Tennyson Jesse—and oth::m ’But on eou"m m driven our sex wins. not & boast. This is for refusing to accept the sacrifice 'h women, by their desire to participate in our daily wlnn!nc, would force upon us. It il ‘lAnkne ed_gesture to bid one look into the . But mtnmoflwn a colorful, a mutnlncenz We are e gp'tnll:l-ltkbqtn "“u',"i“‘ n ance sideways into the I l ' w t whn and bacon for ag:n this !emlnht bun.nm in the only sure home of hope and philosoph; history of the past, hmory wP Ju forward? For women the glorious wars of ancient times have been m#m. the trl“.ur‘gphut Iliad of the Brief Interlude. With that brief inter] Renaissance, n the B, he can re- | war, to take their wives Bflh had aef l!llfl‘ News of Foreigners Fills French Papers PARIS, Pebruery 28—Nothing bet- ter shows the extent of one change that has been brought about in Prance by the war—the great influx of foreign- ::,Hhfl: (3 ""“‘,; :;fl the heldl]nfl:l of w-ru any one m [ yeggmhly in m] D‘ - few in numbsr and th: was almost negligthl cipally as g con- uqu-nn o! the !m 'h losses in '-h in ':’lm'u.':m"" £ uith manner w knife, th. laborers l vluzhid battle with Portu; o ers, that a Persian studen his aunt, that a Polish miner had his wife and then t hhmell. Polish woman had shot her husband and then kuhd hamll lnd that a Hun- emmn, m-ny pollucu e eol}anel DG V.lr eome :fiuhfl coun! of Europe. uul.lm ulluu Spaniards, Serbs, Turks and what not—and their vendettas are marked by much shooting and stabbing, The Prench are beginning to com- plain that Prance is too hospitable, (Copyright, 1931, 87, New, York Sun Poreign ' Formosa Now Looms As Coffee Producer Formosa, the island possession of Japan, is looming up in the coffee pie- ture as a potential world competitor, and a former Honolulu business man is &t the head of the project, He is T, Bllmldl ident Sumida Trading Co. Saakn, :Jmtg: maintains extensive mumu in Hawall and Japan, and is branching out into , Where recently his company 5,000 acres of land, with the ex- Pectation of adding much more if the cnflu vsatuu is mnou-luL to ecater to the oflee )ndlutry and then ex- to the foreign fleld. There is x‘l'.“a" and it the quaiity ol the , an e qu of the is good Formosa be Mental Hygiene Head Un & step or dewn a m Nu e look a art llld umm% em| amur ment ! B A e M nl' ;mu have durod lt. Towa, are Iwuud—llu u' Plans Pacific Survey nmulve nudy of nunhl ':m!w-ea uw He will make m‘m‘-’flt n fo to New Ausi in- e s to Hawail ta- of vmm M, &‘&h thl& tht fll ‘Weeks tion

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