Evening Star Newspaper, May 10, 1931, Page 27

b HE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MAY 10, 1931—PART TWO. ACTIVITIES OF DIPLOMATS | DESCRIBED BY STIMSON| Radio Audience Hears State Seci'etary Describe Efforts for Good Will. 1932 Parle).' Success Seen. HE text of Secretary Stimson's ad- dress last night in the National Radio Forum, arranged by The ‘Washington Star and broadcast over a Nation-wide network of the Columbia Broadcasting System, follows: Under our Federal Constitution the conduct of our foreign affairs is placed in the hands of the President of the United States. He receives foreign Am- bassadors and Ministers. With the advice and consent of the Senate he has the power to make treaties and to appoint American Ambassadors, Min- isters and consuls to foreign countries. The Secretary of State is the member of the cabinet through whom the Presi- dent_carries out these functions, and tne Department of State and the for- eign service are the agencies through which the Secretary works. In Wash- ington there are stationed some 52 for- eign Ambassadors, Ministers and charges, with whom the Secretary is in | constant contact. In foreign countries we maintain 55 American embassies and legations and 345 American con- sulates. The personnel over which the State Department exercises supervision, including the staff in Washington and clerks and employes, numbers in all over 3,500 persons. In this manner and through these agencies the foreign relations of the United States are con- ducted; its treaties, conventions and other business negotiated, and its for- eign policy carried out. Though he sel- dom comes into direct contact with them, thess foreign relations of the United States underlie the welfare of every American citizen. Upon their successful working depends the peace- ful relations of this country with the rest of the world and the safe and successful operation of American busi- ness whenever it, or its connections, venture outside the boundaries ‘of this country. During every year which resses, with the new inventions of science and the steady advance of the methods of modern trade. business in every portion of the world is being knit more and more closely together end made more and more interde- pendent. In the limits of my time this eve- ning it would be impossible and inap- propriate to try to give you a full sum- mary of the work of the State Depart- ment. Instead, I shall select some of the main purposes for which we have been working and illustrate our work by a few examples, . Peace Is Main Function. In the family of nations the main- tenance of peace is the primary and most important function of foreign policy. And when he became Presi- dent Mr. Hoover rightly and wisely {)hced his finger upon the competition n armament which was going on be- tween the nations of the world as the chief obstacle to peace. With the na- tions of the world spending, as they are today, over five billions of dollars an- nually in maintaining armaments chiefly in competition with each other, and with such competitjon naturally and almost inevitably breeding suspi- clon and distrust, the danger resulting 4rom such a situation is manifest. In any community, whether of individuals or nations, where each member is go- ing about seeking to get a better weapon than his neighbor and to have it in a readier position for use, the chamce for permanent peace is small. In 1929 naval competition was the most serious arms competition to us in America, as well as the one in which our influence for peace could be most ly ex- erted. Although competition in bat- tleships had been ended seven years before by the Washington Treaty, a new competition in cruisers, destroyers and submarines had grown up between the principal naval powers and had be- come an irritating and disturbing in- fiuence, particularly between this coun- try and Great Britain. Naval competi- tion had thus become the key log in the jam which blocked the progress of the peace movement of the world. Im- mediately after his inauguration Mr. Hoover personally took up this subject, and his efforts resulted in the calling «f the London Naval Conference, which 4 year later resulted in a treaty be- tween America, Britain and Japan com- pletely and effectively terminating competition between these three largest naval powers of the world. The wis- dom and effect of this step was at once manifest. Not only were the previously drritated relations between this country and Great Britain immediately smoothed out so that they have since been. more oordial and harmonious than for many years past, but, as always happens in these treaties, the example of limita- tion between these three great powers is steadily bringing pressure to bea upon the rest of the world for a sim- ilar limitation. France and Italy, who failed in the London Conference last year, have been working ever since to hieve a similar agreement, and will, as we hope and believe, eventually be successful. A great stimulus has been given to the prospects for success of the European conference on general dis- armament which is set for February of next year. today busily engaged in endeavoring to clear up and get out of the way the various controversies and political prob- lems which may jeopardize the success of that movement. Attention has every- where been focused upon the necessity, 8s well as the possibilities for good, of the cause of arms limitation. Kellogg Pact Test Recalled. When Mr. Hoover came into office the Kellogg-Briand pact renouncing war and undertaking thereafier the settlement of*all controversies solely by peaceful means had just been agreed to by over 50 nations. This pact for its effectiveness depended solely upon the public opinion of the world. Many critics, therefore, said that the pact was nothing better than a gesture and that it never would become an effective in- ternational policy. Mr. Hoover thought differently and early in_his administra- tion joined with Mr. MacDonald, the premier of Great Britain, in a historic statement after the Rapidan Confer- ence, saying, on behalf of the American end British governments: “Both cur governments resolve to ac- cept the peace pact rot only as a dec- Jaration of good intentions, but as a positive obligation to direct national policy in 2ccordance with its pledge.” A test of this view soon came in a very difficult quarter, namely, Man- uria, in the shape of & controversy botween Russia and China, two of the signatories of the pact. These two na- tions having become involved in a dis- pute over the Chinese Eastern Railway, fome of the military forces of Russia crossed the Manchurian boundary and attacked the forces of China. The State Depariment acted promptly to mobilize the publiz opinion of the worid against such hostilities. A mes- sage was sent by our Government to each one of the 55 nations who were rparides to tae Kollogg-Briand pact, re- Guesting them to urge upon Russia and China a peacefulssolution of the con- troversy between them. A great ma- jority of these nations at once approved 1his suggestion, thus concentrating pub: lic opinion in a most dramatic way. YWhen we acted, Russian afrplancs we'e fying over Manchuria dropping bombs on the Chinese forces and Russian in- fantry and cavalry were in armed con- | flict with the forces of China. Within a few days thereafter the Russian forces were withdrawn and Russia was pro- testing that she did not intend war, but instead was in negotiation with China. The incipient invasion of Man- churia had ended. I believe that in the ercpective of history this incident will m large as one of the landmarks on road which the nations of the have traveled toward the elim- ‘The nations of Europ= are | . i ination of war as an instrument of na- | tional policy. One of the most important means| | of “effecting this change from warlike | |to peaceful methods of settling con-| troversies is the establishment of ju-| diclal or arbitral systems by which such controversies ean be thus settled. Amer- jca was a pioneer in this movement and has participated in some of the most important arbitrations of history. The State Department is engaged in cafrying on this work. The statute providing for our adherence to the World Court has been signed by this Government, and that treaty awaits the confirmation of the Senate. Dur- ing the past two years we have exe- cuted 18 treaties of arbitration or con- ciliation with other countries, 12 of which ere already in forc: and the re- mainder awaiting some final step lead- | ing to exchange of ratifications. Dur- ing the same period, under the various treatics of arbitration or conelliation to which we have been parties, six, arbi- | trations have been successfully carried | through and decisions reached. Be- tween the United States and Germany and between the United States and Mexico two arbitral claims commis- sions have beens busily passing upon and disposing of the claims arifing out of the Great War on the one hand and | those arising out of the revolutions in | Mexico on the other. In the case of | Germany particularly rapid progress | has been made and practically all of some 20,000 claims have been disposed jof by the commission, with awards in | favor of American citizens of over $230,- | 000,000. But the settlement of controversies by arbitration, while the most con- spicuous, is by no means tha only or even the most effective, method by which | quarrels between nations are adjusted | or prevented. For every controversy that ripens into a law case many others are either prevented or settled by the cul- tivation of good will between nations or by the patient negotiation and dis- cussion of their representatives, This is the great business of diplomacy. This is the matter which occupies most of the time, efforts and care of the State Department. The Secretary of State and our Ambassadors and Ministers, in co-operation with the rep-esentatives of the other nations of the world, are working day after day and in all parts of the globe in endeavoring to smooth away sore spots and causes of misun- derstanding and to adjust the griev- ances which the citizens of one coun- try may have against the government or citizens of another. It is work which rarely comes to the attention of the public or occupies headlines in the press. But it constitutes the solid foundation upon which the friendly re- lations' of th> world rest and upon which international business through- out the world is being conducted and made possible. Honest people in one nation find it notoriously difficult to understand the viewpoint of honest people in another. State departments and their ministers exist for the purpose of translating the viewpoints of one nation into the terms understood by another. Sorme of our most important | work and effort at the present time lies in this direction. Latin America as Example. I will take, for example, our rela- tions with the 20 republics of Latin America. Good relations with those nations constitute one of the cardinal tenets of our foreign policy. We are all republics. We have inherited to- gether a new hemisphere, and for the last century we have been developing, under similar conditions of freedom from caste and social distinction, com- mon aims in democracy of government. With the succeeding decades, constantly increasing trade with these American neighbors, as well as a gradual devel- opment of intercourse in cultural rela- | tions, have been producing an im- | portant pan-American solidarity in | this Western Hemisphere. It is a growth | big with promise for the future benefit | of the whole world. | _ Yet this beneficent development has been retarded by several historic sore | spots which have been obstinately in- | terfering with the growth of good will | and friendly relations between us and | our neighbors to the South. Bitter memories arising out of former differ- ences with Mexico, the occupation by our forces of Haiti under a treaty with that nation made in 1916; the presence of our Marines in Nicaragua, though | there at the request of her government | and for the purpose of assisting her in | the training of her constabulary, have all suffered distortion in South Amer- ica unwarranted by these events as we. ‘undprsfand them. Each has been used | by the enemies and critics of the United | States as proof positive that we are an imperialistic people prone to use our power in subverting the independence of our neighbors. And these mccusa- tions, however unjustifiable, have dam- aged our good name, our credit and our | trade far beyond the apprehension of | our own people. The State Department is addressing | | itself reriously and successfully toward | the removal of these sore spots. In | March, 1929, when a military insurrec- | tion broke out agginst the government | of Mexico, we rendered to her promptly and cordially such assistance as was | proper and appropriate under the law ;nf nations; and relations with Mexico | have been better ever since that action ilhun for 17 years past. } Commission Sent to Haiti. | In February, 1930, we sent the Forbes | Commission ‘to Haiti to devise a plan looking toward the termination of our occupation and the removal of our| Marines. In accordance with the in- | vestigation and report of that com- mission, we have been steadily and | rapidly turning over to the people of Haiti the management of their own affairs In January, 1920, theré were over 5000 American Marines and naval forces in Nicaragua. By February 1, 1931, that number has been reduced to less than 1,500. On February 13, after consultation between the government of Nicaragua, the Marine commander of the Nicaraguan National Guard and the Secretary of State, a plan was an- nounced and put into effect providing for the .completion of the instruction of the Nicaraguan National Guard and the orderly and safe removal of all of the remaining American training forces by te Autumn of 1932, thus finally re- moving a!! American soldiers from the soil of that republic. In spite of the difficulties that have been and may be caused by outlaw activities in that country, we are proceeding, and intend to proceed, with this plan. We have no intention of removing from American citizens in Nicaragua the protection which American citizens are entitled and accustomed to receive under the law of nations. By assisting the gov- ernment of Nicaragua to organize and | train a competent national guard, we are furnishing the most effective method of protection against bandits, and_at the same time we are recognizing that | the bandit problem is one with which the sovereign government of Nicaragua is primarily concerned and which it is her right and duty primazily to solve. As a matter of fact a fair consideration of the facts makes clear that the new | National Guard of Nicaragua is giving | to strangers in the interior of that country a better protection than they have ¢ver had before or than can be |found in the interior of many other ountries of that locality. In these ways we have been seekin7 o erzdicate the sore spots of Latin American diplomacy, and the press comments throughout those republics (Continued on Sixth- Drama Can’t Be Killed - Famous Critic and Auth - or Discusses General Situation on Which Depends Future of Theater. «A SCENE FROM ‘HAMLET'”—DRAMA OF THIS TYPE WILL NEVER DIE. BY CHANNI POLLOCK. NE cf the stumbling blocks of | democracy is its conviction that, in_the ancient words of Max O'Rell, “one man is as good as another, and a darne: sight better.” | One man may be as gocd as another | —the police records, notwithstanding— | but one man isn't necessarily like an- | other, and our increasing cffort to run the entire populaticn through a single mold, turning out an army of toy sel- | diers that think alike, act alike, enfoy | the same things and fit into the same | boxes is not withcut its difficulties and disappointments. ‘Take the theater: When I was dramatic critic Washington we District-of-Colunghians | divided our patronage btween Weven | places of amusement, Three of them | asked $2 each fcr the best seats (there had been a good deal of protest, I re- | member, when the price was raised frcm $1.50), and purveyed more or less dignified and intellectual fare. Two contented themselves with $1 (cut to 75 cents at matinees) and presented life as a physical struggle to avcid be- in ing bound and laid before the midnight express or doused with the contents of a seltzer bottle. The sixth satisfied those of us who were entertained by watching a lady tle herself into a true- lovers' knot, or by listening to a gen- tleman play “Il Trovatore” on sleigh- bells, and the seventh was devoted to burlesque. All seven had fixed and famous limi- tations cf mental, moral, financial and sartorial requirement. The men who | wanted one kind of titillation or the | other knew just where to get it. Qur audiences disclosed few round pegs in square crchestra chairs. ‘The same thing was true in San Prancisco and Chicago and New York, Just What Is Meant? 1t is still true in most of the older enters of civilization. When you say “the theater” in Paris you mean the Odeon and the Opera; the Ccmedie Francalse and the Folies Bergere. one to like Mayol or Mcliere; or to mix up the two or to insist that drama is a dead issue because business is good at the Casino de Paris. “Live and let live.” “What's one man’s meat is an- “A place for other man’s poison.” its everything, and everything in place.” Holland has a play house that pro- claims itself definitely and permanently (there is a device cut in stone above its_portals): “Not for entertainment only.” The overflow, or underflow, enjoys a spacious Tesort almost across the street. In Japan, from time im- | memorial, there has been what Sheldon | Cheney calls “a sharp division between aristocratic and popular theaters. In English-speaking countries . . . especlally in ‘America . . . 20 years ago we began frying all our dramatic fish in the same pan. The Thalia Theater disappeared, and its manager, who had presented the spectacle of an auction of half-dressed women at 50 | cents a i"Dfinzers of Working Girl: the same spectacle upicwn, in_the fashionable and luxurious Martin Beck Theater (where its predecessor had | There is no disposition to compel every | been a charming musical version of | Clyde Fitch's “Capt. Jinks"), at $3.50 | a ‘seat and under the title of “The | Shanghai Gesture.” | "In the theatrical refrigerator the 'onions were kept with thé butter and seat and under the title of | " presehted | | when, as was inevitable, people stopped going to the refrigerator for their fare, we announced that they had lost in- terest in eating. The drama was dead. It had been killed by “the movies.” (Recently it has been killed all over again, and much more completely, by | “the ' talkies.””) There was a place . . or there were several thousand |places . . . for Cecil De Mille and | Herbert Brenon, so, cbviously, there | could no longer be a place for George Bernard Shaw and John Galsworthy. “Greta Garbo talks,” and in the face of that phencmenon the rest of, us might as well be silent. Mark Twain once said a report of his death was “greatly exaggerated,” and | to see how that applies to the drama let us imagine a parallel case in one of the other arts. Suppose our opera compnales and symphony orchestras have long been offering a mixture cf | Wagner and Victor Herbert and Bee- | thoven and Oscar Straus. All over town are cabarets and dance halls de- voted to jazz. A powerful commercial combination acquires a machine by which tunes . . . and tunes only . can be tinned and delivered at " (Continued on Sixth Page.) POLAND AGAIN AGITATED BY UKRAINIAN POPULATION Conciliation Efforts Made on Eve .of| League Council Session—New ‘Wave of Terroris (Note—Poland is again deeply agitated | by the Ukrainjan problem on the eve of the League of Nations Council session. which will hear the complaints of this minority race living in East Galicia. | Felix Rzewuski, Warsaw correspondent of The Star, reports that the Poles and Ukrainians have been trying to conduct conciliatory negotiations. but that & new wave of terrorism is feared after the League takes action.) BY FELIX RZEWUSKL By Cable to The Star. ARSAW.—On the eve of the League of Nations Coun'.‘fl‘ meeting, which opens in Geneva’ on May 18, when the complaints of the Uk- rainians are expected to be taken up, the problem of the Ukrainian minority | in Poland is again exciting general | attention. The situation is all the more | tense, as some new acts of terrorism | committed by members of the secret “Ukrainlan military organization” -have just been reported. | Attempts have been made by some | Ukratnian groups, especially by the wealthy classes coveting governmental | credits on the one hand, and some | members of the government party on | the other, to start conciliatory nego- | tiations. ‘Doubtless the Polish govern- | ment and the government party would | be glad to come to an understanding | with the Ukrainians before the matter | is discussed by the League Council Article Interrupts Negotiations. _ Negotiations are being carried on | simultaneou though independently, in the lobbies of the Sejm in Warsaw and in Lwow. An interval in these ne- gotiations was caused by publication of an article by a Warsaw paper, which revealed that the Ukrainians aimed at establishing the control of the League of Nations over East Galicla, while the Poles requested a parliamentary declaration of loyalty to Poland to be pronounced by the Ukrainians, and with withdrawal of the Ukrainian com- plaints from the League. Irrespective of whether this is possible from the point of view of the League'ss proce- dure, the Poles certainly wowld not insist upon this point, as it is advan- tageous to Poland to have the problem discussed and give Foreign Minister Zaleski an opportunity to explain why drastic measures were resorted to. This premature * revelation caused great alarm among the Conservatives, both Poles and = Ukrainians. The Ukrainians publish>d in_their paper, Dilo, & communique emphatically stat- ing that “the withdrawal of the com- plaints was impossible,” but the nego- tietions were resuxed shortly after- ward, Great interest in the progress of these negotiations was shown by the Ukrainian Episcopate. A pastoral let- ter was published by Mgr. Chomiszyn, head of the Uniat Dioces: of Stani- slavov, causing a great sensation in both camps. ~Mgr. Chomiszyn _said: “The Ukrainians had not sufficient national self-asserfon to create their own stat> during 1918-19, when so many nations gained their independ- ence, proving they must be loyal to Pcland and respect the Polish govern- ment, which obviously rules tiem by wish of Providence.” ~Mgr. Chomiszyn does not abandon th» idea of an inde- pendent Ukrainian state in future, but reproves violence and disloyalty. Claims Careully Investigated. . The bishop also warns the Ukrain- ians that if the Poles left East Galicia, this country would be invaded the same day by the bolsheviks, which, of course, could hardly satisfy even the bitterest cnemies of Poland. As regards the immediate future, the m Feared. nection with the “pacification.” and cer- tainly the guilty will be punished. Un- forunately there are indications that a new wave of terror is coning. The present lull is not expected to last be- yond the session of the League Council and the three-power conference in London. ‘The Ukrainian leaders ar? asking their. followers to keep quiet, for the moment in order not to impress unfavorably those who will shortly dis- | cuss their interests (Copyright, 1931.) BY G. H. ARCHAMBAULT. ARIS.—Even quicter | revolution in Spain has been the | revolution in France. So quiet, i in fact, that many people are i not aware of it. Yet it may | prove to be the most important political | event of the last 30 years. In brief, it |15 the unmasking of socialism, or at | least of the Soctalist leaders, who have been shown seldom to practice what they preach. ‘““He’s an Agnostic, at Present” BY BRUCE BARTON. Y good friend Dr. Ne- hemiah Boynton told me about a clergyman who was famous in Boston half a century ago. Rigidly orthodox himself, he sent his son to Harvard College, which was at that time suspected of being much too liberal. Meeting' him on the street, Dr. Boynton asked: “How is your boy getting along?” The preacher’s wise old eyes twinkled. *“Well, Boynton,” he answered, “he’s an agnos- tic at present.” In due time the son was graduated and married and he subsequently became not only a successful citizen, but one of the leading laymen in the Presbyterian Church, Dr. Boynton is now 74 years old. It would be difficult to discover a greater optimist, or a sancher believer in the fundamental soundness of American-youth. Hundreds' of parents have come to him to confess their worry about their children. When they have finished their recital he asks: “Are you sure you have told me everything —you haven't held anything back? No? Well, then I will give you the recipe. first and most important thing is ‘don’t get scared. 1f your children sus- pect that you distrust them your influence will be gone. Think back to your own ado- lescent® period; aren’t there some things in it that you would prefer to have forgot- ten? Yet your father and mother did not lose faith in you. The race moves forward, but it moves on the wheels of confidence.” Often he has watched young couples in his churches, wondered whether they would be successful in holding the hot passions of youth in check. Sometimes he wor- ried. “But pretty soon the boy who seemed so wild and irre- sponsible comes around to my house and says, ‘Doctor, will you mal us?’ “‘Sure, Tll marry you,’ I answer. e “A year passes, and the boy calls again. f ‘“‘Doctor, will you come and bapt!ze our baby?’ “‘Sure, I'll come,’ ] say. “So I go around to the new little house or apartment,” he continued, “and I meet the girl mother, and tell her it is the handsomest baby I've ever laid eyes on. And all that time that wild young man is blushing and stammering, and standing first ch one foot and then on the other. All his wildness is fcrgotten, He has only one idea—how can he be the sort of father that that baby ought o have!” Dr. Boynton chuckled, and bit the end off a fresh cigar. 'm 74 years old,” he said. “And my motto is, ‘The best is yet to be.” . = (Copyright, 1931.) Polish government is carefully investi- @eting all the Ukrainian claims in con- FRENCH POLITICAL STRIFE BLOW TO SOCIALIST CAUSE Unmasking of Leaders as Deserters of Proletarian Tenets to Have Far-Reach- ing Effect in Parliamentary Election. Manifestly shis is no new discovery in ’ litics. but it comes nevertheless as a torate. Already the country is thinking of the parliamentary elections early | next year, and up to the present the | Socialist prospects had seemed rosy. | | They had seemed all the rosier because a methodical electoral campaign had been winning for them many by-elec- tiors, culminating this week in a tie between the Socialists and the Radicals |as the most numerous party in the | Chamber of Deputies. Hence, the So- | cialists were beginning to see the day | looming when force of numbers would | compel the chief executive—particularly if Aristide Briand, a left winger, is elected President next Wednesday—to call on them to form the first Socialist | cabinet in France. | ew Leaders Arose. “ The early Socialist leaders in France | were fanatics, recruited either from the | laboring class or from doctrinaire intel- lectuals who wore threadbare coats and lived on frugal fare pending the advent of proletariat rule. As years passed these leaders disappeared, to be suc- ceeded by professional men, lawyers | and professors for the most part, who continued the impassioned oratory, but who did not renounce the fleshpots of the bourgeoisie. While they spoke or wrote of the redistribution cf wealth, | they became owners of real estate and collected antique silver. This contradiction between words and actions was well known to the opponents of sccialisM, but for many years there had been a sort of gentle- man’s agreement whereby personalities were kept out of political polemics. Now the truce has been broken and the Socialist leaders stand aghast. The Socialists were dumbfounded when a minister stood up in the Cham- ber of Deputies and said, in effect: “You Socialists are the worst hypo- crites. In your public speeches you eat up the capitalist bourgeois, but in pri- vate life you eat up the capitalist bourgeois’ fine dinners. Publicly you enlist popular support by insisting that the bourgeois state is corrupt to the core; privately you beg for all you can get from that ccrrupt state. Socialist at- torneys accept fat fees to defend cap- italistic clients. Socialist legislators are among the most insistent in their assaults on the treasury; they consider the pork barrel as their particular perquisite and they want governmental jobs—corrupt government jobs—for ‘all their relatives and friends.” Flandin Attacks. The man who made this onslaught was Plerre Etienne Flandin, minister of finance in the Laval cabinet, whom the Socialists had made the particular target of their attacks, alleging that in his official capacity he had favored rivate interests, his own and those of is friends., M. Flandin did not adopt the defensive, Instead he lashed out. And the consternatifn was great in the Socialist camp. Socialist chances at the mnext elec- tions, which were favored by the ever- increasing cost of living and by unem- ployment, have been dashed, and the next chamber is likely to be without a l':ldmber of the Socialists who sit there ay. Consequently, the moderates amorg the Socialists are wondering whether ersonal interest does not suggest bolt- g the party in order to attan cabinet rank in some bourgeols government. Paul Boncour, for instance, has been for years preparing himself for the ministry of foreign affairs, while Pierre Renaudel has been qualifying for the air mm:stryf Boncour has long been hesiating on/jeceding from the than the | .El?mck to the mass of the Socialist el>c-| 3 'LATIN AMERICANS CHARGE TRADE SLUMP TO TARIFFS iChamber of Commerce Speakers Stressed . Need for International Co-operation. I ' BY GASTON NERVAL. ERITAPS because Springtime is here, business leaders and econ- omists throughout the eountry are predicting the returm of prosperity in the next few months. Hard times are over, they say, and their happy spark of optimism ra- diates from the front page of every newspaper in America. In the meantime business minds from the world over gathered in Washington last week to work for economic re- habilitation. At the meetings of the International Chamber of Commerce more than 1000 delegates from 46 nations discussed the problems of the most severe economic depression the world has ever witnessed. They did not seem s0 confident as the business leaders in this country who have seen prosperity “just around the corner.” Therefore they were busy trying to devise prescriptions as to the ways and means of bringing about economic rellef by international agree- ments and co-operation. For a whole week these heads of of 46 such finance, business and industry countries were wrestling with problems as world depression, unem- | ployment, overproduction, distribution, ‘wages, iffs, taxes, standards of liv- ing, reparations and war debts. Whether they were justified in de- scribing the economic situation of the world in fuch discouraging phrases as they did, and whether they were right or wrong in doubting the optimistic predictions of Uncle Sam, one out- standing conclusion appears to emerge out of this conference: The recognition by the leading nations of the earth that economic interdependence is the pre- dominating law today, and that the progress and prosperity of any par- ticular country are inevitably bound up with the progress and prosperity of all humanity. Hard Times in the South. No exception to the rule, Latin America has been suffering from this world-wide depression in the last two years. In fact, it would not be ven- turesome to say that some Latin American countries” have been the hardest hit. One-crop counéries most of them, the decline in prices of’ the particular commodity in which their whole national economy was centered has cut in half the public and private incomes, wrecked entirely the govern- ment's budget and caused a general business depression of unusual char- acteristics. ‘To the natural evils of the economic crisis which swept the world at large, another factor has added in Latin America to this chaotic situation, and that is the poor administration of na- tional funds by inexpert or dishonest regimes which were, only recently over- thrown. This failure of the old regimes in handling the economic problems, ag- gravated by government corruption, was precisely the underlying cause of so many revolutions on the othet side of the Rio Grande in the last 12 months. In Latin America, more than anywhere else, economic conditions influence political developments, for the people have a special psychological ability to make political issues of the financial errors of the men in power. ‘The sugar crisis in Cuba, the tin ecrisis in Bolivia, the coffee crisis in Brazil, agricultural condition in Argen- tina, financial complications in Peru, business depression in Colombia, and | so on, are reported daily by the press. | Only Venezuela seems to have escaped this general slump, thanks to the over- whelming oil production, which has made that nation the second largest oil producer in the world. Venezuela today is the only country with no external debt, her obligations having been paid last December on the occasion of the cenienary of Bolivar, the libertator. The case of Venezuela serves to prove the assertion that eco- nomic reasons were behind the recent revolutionary movements, for that country has subsisted for vears with a | regime which politically is far more at variance with the democratic ideals of the Latin Americans than the ones overthrown last _year in Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, etc. The Four Horsemen. Depression has invaded Latin Amer- ica with its four terrific horsemen— unemployment, wage cutting, tax in- crease and suppression of credit. Although not on the same scale as in more industrialized countries, the problem of the unemployed is giving many a headache to southern execu- tives, particularly those of the coun- tries more largely developed, like Ar- gentina, Brazil, etc. Bread lines have been seen in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Lima and other Latin capitals. As for wage reductions and the sup- pression of jobs by Latin American governments, only a few weeks ago I had occasion to comment upon the measures _adopted by Colombia and Mexico. These were merely following the course set by other southern states- men, who in Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Ecuador and nearly all of Latin America have made drastic economies in their national budgets at the ex- pense of government employes. I sald at that time that some governments had made reductions amounting to almost 40 per cent of the budget, and others were looking for more weak spots in it, where the scissors of na- tional economy might be put to work. A recent cablé from Santiago confirms this impression, announcing the Chilean Government has also ordered severe de- creases in the administration. A hint of this policy of economy may be found in the reduction in size and salaries of diplomatic missions abroad. In Washington alone, which is sup- to be the most important post or nearly all the Latin republiss, sew- eral counselors, secretaries and attaches have been called home, and most of the chiefs of missions have relt de- pression reflected in their salaries. The constant increase of taxes and | the restricted credit accorded by the | banks and commerce are the other two | worrles of Latin American business | men. In ifevitable consequence of the economic depression, they contribute slow business and economic uncertainty which the Latin American delegates described with dramatic eloquence at the sessions of the International Cham- ber of Commerce last week High Tariffs, Low Trade. ‘The leading economic experts of the | world are at odds in determining the causes behind this tremendous deps=— | slon in the five continents. Wha- they agree upon, high protective tariffs are for the Latin Americans ons of the chief sources of trouble and eco- nomic difficulties. The protectionistic | walls which the United States and other American and European nations have erected along their border lines are blamed by Latin Americans for the de- cline of commercial interchange and all the materfal evils that go with it | 8o they stated during the meetings of | the International Chamber of Com- | merce, and in doing so they were only repeating what the La‘in American press as a whole had warned when protective Hawley-Smoct tariff w passed by the Congress of the United States. During the discussions on that bill the danger was mentioned by Latin Americans and obpcnents of the high tariff policy in this country that the exhorbitant duties proposed not cnly would be a serious blow to the export trade of foreign nations in commerce with the United States, but that this country also would suffer the conte- quences. Two main arguments were adduced in this respect, one that the depression caused by the tariff in for- eign countries naturally would be re- flected in & decrease of their buying power, thus diminishing their orders for American-manufactured produc's and their general trade with Uncle Sam; and second, that there were cer- tain raw materials which, either not existing at all in the territory of the United States or else existing in very small quantities, could not be heavily taxed without injuring the very inter- ests of the consumers in this country. Soon after the promulgation of the, Hawley-Smoot tariff, her import. duties were aporoved by Mexico, Argen. tina, Cuba, Chile and other Latin- American. republics. These not only affected goods coming from the United States but also those from the neigh- boring Latin countries, and the Chilean | press only recently discussed the possi- | bility of a “tariff war” with Argentina. | . ‘The whol€ question of the tariff prob- {lem was put forth clearly bv Ambassa- | dor Malbran of Argentina when he ar- ,:vigem"mw Y?:!l to C;lkle‘ up his duti=s presentative of his government in Washington. 1In a statement for th: press he sald: “It is not logical to e; pect us to pay for all of our foreign ro- quirements in gold. We must try to pay |at least in part with our exportable | products. These considerations clearly | develop the point that those interested |in selling to us the products of their factories. also should be most interssted |in our success in disposing of our prod- | ucts, thus increasing in the most effica- clous manner our purchasing power.” | Economic ' Unions. Whatever economist or group of ex- perts takes up the‘study of the world | economic _depression now in progress, | and attempts to de methods to solve | it, should have in vise mind the tariff ele- ment; i, for nothing else, the solution | of lem is necessary to | assure that international good and co-operation on which the leading busi- ness men of the world are relying more and more to_check the continuance of | hard times, * The tendency toward tariff unions is | growing in Europe. The Pan Europsan | plan of the wise Mr. Briand and the | announcement of the German-Austrian | economic union which caused so much hullabaloo are only two instances of its influence on international trade. Euro- pean statesmen are favoring more and more the abolition or the gradual re- duction of import tariffs among them. Particularly, in these days of depression, | they consider it the best policy to com- | pensate the losses that economic agents |of an almost indecipherable character have wrought. In Latin America, too, the idea of in- ternational agreements between the countries on the Western Hemisphere for the abolition of import duties ‘has ! been expressed and favorably received. A prominent Argentine economist, Senor Bunge, has sfiggestad in a detailed form the tariff union of Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Bolivia—countries which, in his opinion, could supplement and com- plement each other so perfectly that | such a union would solve all their eco- | nomic worrles of today. ‘The Cuban Ambassador to the United States, Senor Ferrara, a noted publicist and diplomat of international reputa- , tion, also has mentioned the advantages of a tariff union between his country |and the United States. With Sgures | and statistics, he has demonstarted how | an economic alliance between Cuba and | the Uinted States would be of benefit to both. The day will come when not only Ambassador Ferrara and Senor Bunge, but the statesmen of all the world will be advocating economic unions, lest they too join the lists of unemployed. Most likely the present world wide eco- Tnomic depression will hasten the coming of that day. (Covyright. 1531) Depreciation of Rumanian Money Allows Poor Army Officers to Wed BUCHAREST.—Among other things and institutions which depreciated rates cf exchange or currency have left in their paths of destruction throughout Europe before the avalanche was finally checked is the dowry law governing the marriage of Rumanian army offi- cers. However, just as an il wind seldom falls to bring good fortune to some one, the depreciation of the Ru- manian leu permitted many an other- wise poor officer doomed to bachelor- hood to become the possessor of a per- fectly legitimate wife. ‘The old requirements in pre-war days for an officer of the junior grades was that he or his flancee have a capital of at least 30,000 lel before the authori- ties would even consent to consider cther requirements. But 30,000 lei is now less than $200, and for a long while was even less than that. Future Weddings Stabilized. ‘The Rumanian Parliament evicently has decided that too many officers are taking advantage of this low rate of exchange, and therefore has stabilized, or put on a gold basis, all future army weddings. Certain parts of the néW law, which already has become effective, differ little If he does he certainly will go to the Quai d'Orsay in the near future and possibly become Briand’s successor at Ceneva, where he already has had ex- perience as a French delegate, and he will b2 in a position to run for the presidency of the republic seven years hence. ». | from the old. Both the flancee and her | fa=ily must bear honorable reputations | in aociety. The officer must be at least | 25 years cld and have the approval of his ‘superior. Any officer who marries without permission, which #utomatically follows after all requirements have besn met, but not without all the customary red tape of army life, is dismissed from active service. Same Laws for Non-Coms. Rich officers may marry girls without dowry, but others less fortunate must, together with their future brides, give proof of an annual income, not includ- ing the officer’s salary, of 40,000 lei, or about $250. An officer widower with children gets off a little lighter, st 30,- 000 I¢i, and those marrying the daugh- ters of officers with certain high decc- rations need only 25000 lel. Still others may marry state teachers or ofber state employes without any dowry whatever if the annual salary of such person be equal to 40,000 lei. Inferior grades, non-commissioned officers especially, are subject to prace- tically the same laws, with the excep- tion of the required dowry, which is reduced to an annual income of 6,000 lei, or less than $35. The official grant- ing the marriage license to any officer without proper authorization is sub- Jected to fine and reprimand. (Copyrisht, 1931.) Nearly 40 years after he had been discharged frcm the British Royal Engineers, Tom Chambers, now 88, end | former sergeant-major, has just bsen lgresented 2 meritorious service medal in