Evening Star Newspaper, May 31, 1931, Page 25

Part 2—8 Pages EDITORIAL SECTION ' SUNDAY MORNING, ARMY’S PEACE ACTIVITIES VITAL, DECLARES HURLEY; War Secretary Outli ways, Flood Con nes Defense; Water- trol and Insular Projects in Forum Speech. HE text of Secretary of War Hur- ley's speech in the National Radio Forum, arranggd by The Star and broadcast over a Na- tion-wide network of the Co- fumbia Broadcasting System, follows: It is an unfortunate fact that the great majority of the people look upon the War Department as an agency dedi- cated to war. Many have come to re- gard it as a Government bureau which exists between wars much as does a foot ball team between halves of a game. ‘They picture it as sitting on the bench walting for the whistle to blow, with nothing t5 do in the meanwhile except to contemplate the prospects for another war. Of course, the primary purpose of the ‘War Department is to provide for the national defense, and its chief resp-nsi- bility lies in the execution of the mili- tary policies of the Nation. Since the World War the successive Secretaries have succeeded in placing the business of the War Department on a sound basis. The raturns from the revenue producing activities of the Army have been increasad and it has a great- er degree of preparcdness than we have ever had before during peace time. In the post-war development of the Army, the fact has been clearly recog- nized that the people of this country never will contribute to the support of 8 large peace-time standing Army. On the other hand, the Government has kept, in mind the fact that the Cen- stitution charges the citizen himself | with the defense of his rights to life, | liberty, property and “the pursuit of | happiness.” Develop Citizen Components. Accordingly, the War Department has developed the citizen compcnents of the Army of the United States. We are making steady constructive progress in the development of mechani- cal equipment into formidable fighting 9-foot channel. We can appreciate what this has meant to the industrial region of the Ohio when we consider that the shipments on the river are over 20,000,- 000 tons a year, where in 1922 it was around 6,000,000 tons. The Ohio flows through the heart of America's indus- trial region. This peace-time accom- plishment of the War Department and the Corps of Engineers has given this Jarge section of the interior of our Na- tion water transportation through the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to the Gulf. The Great Lakes are being improved for increased transportation. The Fed- eral Government has taken over the Ilinois Waterway from the State of Illinois and 1s proceedirg rapidly on the work of connecting the Great Lakes with the Mississippi through the Iilinois Waterway and through the Mississippl to the Gulf. With this connection Chicago, Milwaukee, Duluth, Detroit, Cieveland and Buffalo will have water | transportation to the sea. There is now a 6-foot channel up the | Mississippi _as far as Minneapolis and St. Paul. Its depth is being increased to 9 feet. Plans for this work have been completed ard ali installations under construction up to the head of navi- gation are being built with a 9-foot channel in view. Work on Missouri River. ‘The Engineers are also at work on the establishment of reliable navigation on the Missouri. Eventually the Missouri will have a 6-foot channel Mississippi through Kansas City, St. Joseph and Omaha to Sioux City. On this project work is at present concen- | trated on_the stretch-from the Missis- sipoi to Kansas City. This work has suffered some setbacks because of low er that has prevented the immediate ing up of the wing dams by which the stream is confined. It is 85 per cent completed and, given favorable weather conditions, should be open to naviga- from the | units. Machines are being substituted | tion within the coming year. for animals. These organizational changes keep us abreast or ahead of the current military trend. In the post-w period of intensive study and effort, we have secured the following factors for proper defense that we did not possess in 1917. In prop: tion to our population we have the smallest standing army in the world, but we now have a carefully detailed plan | for mobilization; a more highly trained | ataff to execute it; a decentralized re- | gional machinery for its execution; a more highly educated and more numer- ous personnel to employ as c-mmanders and instructors; a reserve of equipment | and munitions for use at the beginning | of mobilization; a sircng National | QGuard, and a leadership reservcir of | 100,000 Reserve officess. Our entite peace-time military sysiem is voluntary. | This development of . citizens' army | has e~«© sccomplished with due regard for *he taxpayer's pocl 2tbock. We have succeede? i~ keeping the part of na- tionzl %uecms Asvote ! t> preparations for Aefense smaller fr proportion to our populatiort $3an w24z of any other coun- try. There \g ragtn £5r further econcmy without_injury % proper national de- | fense. In the interest cf economy and | better business organization, unneccs- | sary forts and reservations to the num- | ber of 53 are being abandoned. No fort or reservation that is esscntial to the training of cur soldiers or the d-fens of the couniry will be abandcned. Alr Program Near Completion. | We are mow approaching the com- | pletion of the five-year air progrem. While working toward the attainment of this objective, the Army not only has increased the speed, climbing abilities and fighting capacities of its own craft, | but its research and developments have | contributed greatly to the sefcty, effi- | clency and economy of commercial | aviation. | Meanvwhile the department is con-| tinuing its study of industrial mobiliza- | tion. This study originated in the re- alization that modern warfare is essen. tially dual in nature, military and in- | dustrial. Because of the fact that, the War Department has been studying a plan to synchronize industry with mili- iary operations in the event of emer- gency, it has been charged by some that an attempt is being made to mili- | tarize industry. Such a charge is ab- surd. Even the War Department’s plans provide for the mobilization of industry in the event of emergency by cvilians and not by military personnel. | ‘There is no_ desire on the part of the | general staff or the War Department | to militarize industry or to control in- dustry to any extent by military per-| sonnel. It is considered essential, how- | ever, that certain members of the per- sonnel of the Army understand indus- try and know its capacity, as well as| its limitations, so as to prevent a re-| currence of the chaotic conditions that | prevailed after our entry into the World | ar. Allied with the departmental studies | of industrial mobilization is the work of the War Policies Commission. This commission was created by a joint reso- Jution of Congress and is composed of four members of the Senate, foyr mem- bers of the House, and five members of the cabinet. The chief purpose of this commission is the promotion of peace, alizeination of war profits, to equalize the burdens of war and formuiaie gen- eral policies pertaining to the armed forces of the Nation. It is quite gen- erally conceded that the elimination of profits in time of war will be a long step toward the assurance of peace. Nearly all are agreed that it is unjust | and unpatriotic to require one man to die in defense of his nation while an- other is profiting by war. The Secre- tary of War is chairman of the War Policies Commission. That commission recently held a long series of hearings. It has not yet reached its conclusions, but expects to be in a positicn to make a definite report at the convening of the next Congress. Since the World ‘War, the War Department has been working on solutions to these most vexatious problems and has furnished the commission with concrete proposals affecting them. Step in Direction of Peace. ‘There have been many who have objected to the consideration of these problems at this time. It has even been sugegsted that this study at this titme clearly indicates a lack of confi- dence in the peace of the’ future or that it actually envisions a future war. , of course, is lneg;:‘ct r'l:{.e‘m- ence regarding any sul ining 'w the policies of the Nation is helpful. But it goes further than that. It is a step in the direction of peace. It in- sures that in any future emergency the burdens of war will be equalized so far as it is possible to equalize them and that the burdens will fall with equal ‘weight upon all elements of our citizen- ship. ‘While reorganizing and modemlzh:s the Army, the War Department has' hi plenty of other peace-time jobs. A year ago last October the canal- ization of the Ohio River was completed. Army engineers spent $120,000,000 on this piece of work, and spent it well. “They opened up for year-round traffic It The upper | section necessarily waits on the com- | pletion of the lower, but the upper Mis- | souri is already the scene of extensive | preliminary work, which will increase as | the lower portion nears completion. | The completion of the upper Mississippi | and the Missouri will provide water | transportation to the great agricultural | regions of the Northvest. | Steady progress is r=ing made toward | the completion of the intercoastal | canals system on the allentic and Gulf | Coasts as far as Cuypus Christi, Tex.| Surveys beyond that soint have been | authorized. The Army Enginc-ic are as much concerned with haroor improvements | and waterway development on the West | Coast as they are with projects on the | Atlantic watershed. | From Harbor Refuge in Alaska all the way south to San Diego they are cngaged in intensive improvement work. All the great harbors of the Pacific sea- | board are receiving attention. San | Prancisco Harbor, Los Angeles and | Long Beach Harbors, San Disge Harbor | and other lesser ports are being pro- | vided with deeper and wider entrance | channels. | 18 Million for Flood Control. | River improvement is recciving its share of attention. Flcod control work on the Sacramento River alone calls for | an expenditure of approximately $18.- 000.000 and will protect the Sacramento | and San Joaquin Valleys from the flood ' menace that always has threatened Iife | and property. In the north extensive works are being projected for the maintenance and_protection of the 40- foot channel of the Columbia River. The improvement of numerous other harbors, bays and rivers in Washington, | Oregon and California will greatly lessen transportation costs and increase the facilities tc handle the rapidly growing coastal and international com merce on the Pacific Coast. In the execution of all this work on river and harbor improvements and flood control the Corps of Engineers employs approximately 30,000 civilians ! and conducts a business aggregating | about $100,000,000 annually. Right now | they have 971 projects authorized by Congress. These include 50 canals and | waterways and the flood-control proj- | ects of the Mississippi and its tribu- | taries. development, as well as the greatest amount in any similar period in the history of the Nation. The fiscal year ending June 30, 1931, will be greater, from a stgndard of achlevement, than that of 1930. While on the subject of rivers and harbors, it is only just to acknowledge that the policy and plan which are turning our inland waterways into an efficient transportation system came from outside the War Department. As early as 1925 Herbert Hoover, then Sec- retary of Commerce, definitely outlincd and advocated the organization and co- ordination of our waterways. The plan for taking over the Illinois Waterway by the Federal Government and through it connecting the Missis- sippl system and the Gulf with the Great Lakes belongs to Herbert Hoover. As President he continues to take an active driving interest in completing these ereat projects. Under his direc- tion the development of our inland streams has become a national rather than a local program. Complete Nicaragua Survey. Allied with the river and harbor work of the Army Engineers is their most re- cent accomplishment, the completion of the Nicaragua Canal survey. At a time when our military expenses are under scrutiny. it is worthy of note that the money for this work was squeezed out of the regular Army sppropriations. It was while on this duty that the En- ineer baitalion was able to co-operate in the relief work incident to the recent ! earthquake at Managua. The War Department operates the Panama Canal and is now constructing the Alhujuela Dam on the Chagres River to supply additional water to make possible the handling of greater traffic through the Canal. A number of problems of a contro- versial nature have been settled by the ‘War Department during the past year. For example, the Illinois Waterway, giv- ing_ Chicago access to the Mississippi, could not be undertaken until several complicated legal tangles had been un- snarled involving the rights, privileges and interests of the State of Illinois in existing channels and canals. A num- ber of differences of opinion and legal questions had to be adjusted before such a structure as the Hero-Hackett Bridge could be built across the Mississippi River at New Orleans. The same is true of the plans for the great bridge which is to be built over the Golden Gate at San Francisco. The controversy regarding the San Francisco-Oakland Bridge has also been adjusted. Until a year ago the policy of the War Dcpartment and the Navy Department was unfavorable to the {erection of any bridge structure north of what is known as Hunters Point. It was the contention of both dzpartments that the requirem-nts of national d fiense had not been given due consid- eration by the interests proposing the crection of the trans-Bay Bridge. In The fiscal year ended June 30, | dition, this army had poured into the | 1930, closed the greatest year in river | C BY C. PATRICK THOMPSON. | HROUGH the mist and fume of the glant economic storm in which England flounders a dis- tant light has been sighted which some think marks safe harborage at last—provided the sorely tried ship can make it through the in- tervening gales, cross currents, con- fused swells and heavy seas. On the chart the light is shown as marking the entrance to Five-Year- Plan Port, gateway to the strange new land of- planned economics (one of the basic principles, I may observe, of Com- munism according to Karl Marx) A touch of fantasy in this me 1t is deliberate. Here you have ously advanced and ssriously discussed in all parties and among the leaders of big business and finance, a_stupendous | plen to reconstruct the British eco- | nomic system from top to bottom, and along with it the national life and Brit- ain’s relation to her colonies and pos- sessions and the rest of the world. How- | | ever you look at this proposition, it is fantastic. And yet something—possibly much—may come of it. Considerable | elements of the nation, and_especially | the younger generation, are thinking in | this "direction. A nutshell history of the birth of the | Plan has significance, since the birth processes are symptomatic of the | stresses and strains that are going on | today within the British body politic under the pressure of a world struggle for markets in which the island folk ap- | pear to be losing out. | George Pinckard and his American | wife acquired the Saturday Review and | put in Gerald Barry, critic and man of letters, to edit it. For five vears this | weekly review ran along placidly, barely | ruMing the surface of contemporary ; opinion. Beaverbrook Starts Crusade. Then Lord Beaverbrook, left on the ! outside of politics on the death of his | | intimate friend, Bonar Law, and having | | further failed to get any satisfaction | out of racing, yachting and other con- ventional distractions of the leisured | rich in England, conceived the idea of regenerating England and her empire, | at the same time giving himself some- | thing real and big and vital to live for— | 50 he started his crusade designed efther to force the great Conservative party to | adopt the policy of high protection for England and imperial economic unity or else to smash that party and on its ruins build a new one with the aforesaid poiicy as its raison d'etre. Beaverbrook presently was joined by Lord Rothermere, who controls the big- | gest engine of publicity in the island | and is probably England's richest man. But the two were really a sister act by | sisters who never met—for Rothermere hes a feud with Baldwin, while Beaver- nt Units Envisioned to Revive Britain’ ~-Drawn for The Sunday Star by Devitt Welsh. Beaverbrook concentrates on the con- | ception of England raised again to pros- perity on the tidal wave of a business boom cngendered by an empire organ- ized and protected after the manner of the federalized States of North America, while Rothermere, who has strong | Fascist leanings, agitates for the strong hand in India and the revision of the Treaty of Trianon in favor of Hungary, the latter a move calculated to bore thé British people but to please Mussolini, Rothermere’s hero. Opposition Is Bitter. ‘The champions of the menaced Con- servative party, along with a host of high-minded independents who resent- ed what they conceived to be an at- tempt by press lords to usurp the func- tions of government, and a horde of P nal enemies of Rothermere and Beaverbrook girded their loins for a battle and struck back with fists, el- bows, teeth and knees; and in private social life vou came across plentiful evidence of the heat and extent of the general engagement. | In the midst of a critical by-election, in which the Beaverbrook faction had official Conservative candidate (to the | delight of the Labor party), Beaver- brook received an unexpected ally in the Saturday Review of this highbrow weekly, reaching a cir- cle of intellectuals contemptuous of the MAY 31, England’s 5-Year Plan The adhesion | ¢ Sundiy Star. WASHINGTON, D. C., 1931. Special Articles * Economic Life. Time and Tide power and influence in the weekly review field. Barry called young, forward-looking men into con- ference on a policy for the regeneration of England. And so the plan was draft- ed and launched in a 16-page supple- ment, and all sorts of well knowns studied it and a number whose names carry weight approved it. . Faces Big Task. 8o much for the birth pangs of the now famous Plan. Seeking to bring every national activity into organic re- lationship, it is almost as comprehensive, in its way, as Stalin’s plan. It does not presuppose changes in human nature, but it does demand the elimination of “the dead hand of wasted capital, of hereditary management, of traditional trade unionism, of the parasitic middle- man, of the overconservative consumer and of the purely restrictive official.” A large order. ‘The Plan makers have eyed such con- temporary phenomena as the Canadian wheat pool, the German reorganization, the Russian five-ycar plan and the United States Farm Board, and have sought to apply sundry lessons they perceive there to the plan for Britain. Large-scale buying, for instance, would replace erratic small-scale buying, and new giant organisms would arise, organized on the lines of public utilities and merging all existing competing groups of industry, transport and com- merce. Workers and consumers would be_represented in the new bodies. Strong government action would be needed at first to cut through opposi- tion, reconcile conflicting interests, force reluctant hands, kick standbacks out of the way, bring about the neces- sary groupings and generally see the transition stage through while the in- dustrial court. arbitrating all disputes and agreements to limit profits, was be- | ing established. This presupposes the | sidetracking of Parliament. Chaotic Situat BY FRANK H. SIMONDS. | EW YORK.—The decision to send | the question of the Austro-Ger- | man tariff union to the World Court for an ad¥isory opinion has served not alone to give the | meeting of the League Council at |Geneva the outward appearance of much-needed tranquillity, but has also for the time being removed from the area of controversy the most acute is- sue that Europe has known, at least since the occupation of the Ruhr. The further statement of M. Briand that the political questions would have to be set- tled by diplomatic methods before the legal were dealt with by the juridical machinery has also something of prom- |ise in it. Along with the promise, to be sure, goes a cert?in warning, for, after all, the main issue is political. France is re- solved at all costs to prevent this tar- iff union, which it sees as the first stage in the ultimate incorporation Austrian republic in the German Reich. And when I was in Paris a few weeks | ago the ruling opinion both in official |and press circles was that, even if the | World Court found a juridical warrant, | of her most important allies. Czecho- | slovakia and Poland. was so clearly in- | volved that the association must be pre- | vented. i Underneath the surface at Genéva it is clear that the whole maneuver has been to detach Austria from Germany. Every one recognizes clearly that this eventual combination of the two Ger- man states is inevitable unless some means can be found to remedy the ex- ilslinK economic and financial situation |of Austria. Nor has there been lack- ing from the start the belief that Aus- trian statesmen had in mind rather the big circulations and their stunts, pleased | The new groupings made, however, | forcing of this issue than a serious pur- Beaverbrook mightily. It appeared, however, that the Satur- day Review had come over to Beaver- brook on the initiative of its proprietor, over the head of its editor: and when Gerald Barry walked out with key mem- | bers of the staff he received gencral ap- | probation. while the proprietor's action was generally condemned. Beaverbrook rushed aids from bhis Ex- {and every industry transformed into a self-governing unit under a council (able to settle ail its purely domestic | | Affairs), the industries would govern | themselves without state interference. The councils to look after these self- governing units in each case would be | responsible (a) to the industrial court | for all matters disputed and (b) to the national planning commission so far as pose in the present moment to force a union. | Gaining in Strength. | _When I wasin Vienna. in the last days of April, it was patent that opposition to the project was there already gaining strength. The banking and financial | circles were dead against the project, because for them it spelled subordina- press offices to help Pinckard get his |orderly development in harmony with |tiOD and even absorption by the vastly journal out. But the rally round Barry | other industries and national and inter- |MOre Powerful German banks. |and his little band was tremendous. national needs is concerned. Indus- | trial interests were divided, some secing J. J. Astor, Lord Astor's brother and the | These two key bodies—the nationa] | *dVaNntage in the German market. others financial power behind the (strongly for Baldwin as against Beav- erbrook), and Samuel Courtland, the millionaire artificial silk manufacturer, to start a new review. Thus appeared the Week End Review, a new weekly which now shares with the old - established Progressive - Con- \brook has no personal animosities; 'an independent candidate fighting the | servative Spectator and the non-party Times | Planning commission and the industrial | court—would remain as independent of ’polmcnl tampering as the present ju- diciary and the Bank of England; the | immediately provided Barry with funds | commission. like the Bank of England | today, would work in free collaboration with the government of the day. | It is true that the planners would | insure the self-government of industry (Continued on Fourth Page.) Apprentice Boy to President Paul Doumer, New President of France, Has Overcome Enormous Obstacles in Rise. BY STEPHANE LAUZANNE. " RISTIDE BRIAND, who has been 12 times premier of France, | once said to his friends: “Don't | oblige me to be premier a thir- tecnth time; it would bring | me {1l luck.” It may be that Briand some day will be premier a thirteenth time—but he will not be the thirteenth President of the French republic. Fer the thir- teenth President will be Paul Doumer, Ppresident of the Senate and a veteran | of the French democracy. | As usual when a President of the| republic is elected, every one from every station in life had flocked to Versailles on the thirteenth of May—again we find the fatal figure 13—1831. An army of automobiles had brought an | army of spectators. According to tra- | Restaurant des Reservoirs to see every- | thing and to be seen | At the restaurant the menu was the | same as it was for the presidential | election of 1924, which was the same as it was for 1920—and that was the same as in 1913. Only the prices had changed, and. of course, they were higher now. The same people—or ap- proximately the same people—were | there for lunch. The crowd had pene- | trated even into the pantry. and a min- | ister was standing near the kitchen— | but no one paid any attention. It is astonishing how little ministers amount to in such circumstances. Battalions of Women. By 1 o'clock every one was in the hall of the Natoional Assembly, in the corridors or in the court nearby. There were ladies—a great many ladies. ‘Women are superior to men in that they can enter everywhere, especially where they have no special ness. And time there were regular bat- talions of women. They had taken all the boxes by storm. The 900 members of the National As- sembly (600 Deputies, 300 Senators) filled the half circle of the house. They were crowded in close against one another. Looking down from the galleries, one could see little red and white spots— the bald heads of the Senators and the more abundant hair of the Deputies. Two clocks were hung at the two doors of the hall, facing the assembly. It is- a strange thing that these two clocks never keep the same time. In 1924 the one on the right was ahead: this time the one on the left had gained. Is this not proof that the progress of democratic ideas is strengthening? Doumer Takes Charge. When the hands of the clock on_the left pointed to 2 o'clock, M. Paul Doumer, president of the Senate; took the presiding officer’s chair. He read the text of the French constitution, which commands that the Senate and the Chamber meet together to elect the President of the republic. And he added these words: “We are going to proceed immediately to the election of a new President. Ballots will be cast on the tribune in the order wherein the names of those who vote are called. I am going to draw a letter which will indicate w] ‘Then M. took a heas tionary from the hands of his t, opened it at random and read out the first letter of the page on his left. This letter was “L.” Then members of the House whose names begin ascended the tribune, placed their bal- lots in _the box and returned to their seats. In the proper order all the other members followed. ‘This scene lasted two hours. At 4 o'clock the counting of the votes began. At 4:45 news ran through the lobbies, through the entire city and throughout France: “Aristide Briand has been beaten for the presidency of the re- 1 of 1929 the President of the thousand-mile waterway from Pitts- (1€ = buzgh to Cairo and gave it a permanent public by Paul Doumer|*” It was true, indeed. Pigures an- apn|a —From a Lithograph by Eric Pape. PAUL DOUMER—A VETERAN OF THE FRENCH DEMOCRACY. nounced from the chair were as follows: | Votes cast, 897. Absolute majority, 449. Have obtained: Doumer, 442: miscellaneous, 54. The increased Doumer’s majority to 504 votes—more than enough to elect him—while Pierre Marraud, former minister of public in- struction, obtained 334. But Briand had quit the palace and the race as well. He seemed broken, tired. His face had lost its color, his eyes their usual flash. He did not look up when spoken to, and hurried away. How was it that Briand, France’s greatest statesman, had been beaten? Certainly not because of his foreign or international policy, which nearly every one in the Senate as well as the Cham- ber heartily indorses. But undoubtly | f: because he was openly supported by the Socialists, use lt,y wlg Leon Blum, Socialist leader, who had been the first didacy, because, above was not a fight between pacifism and nationalism. It was a straight fight be- tween socialism and anti-socialism on the grounds of international politics. And anti-socialism won in the face of all expectations. Son of Railroad Worker. Moreover, Paul Doumer—who, de- spite his 74 years and his snow-white beard, has kept a dapper figure and an alert mind—is & ar man in France. : & His story sounds like a romance. He is of modest origin, the son of a rail- road worker. His father died the very day the child came into the world. and his mother took him to Parls, where she started a smali haberdashery shop in old Montmart At the age of 11 the boy had to earn his living. became an apprentice to a manufac- turer of medals, with a salary of $20 a month, and worked 10 hours a day. His salary helped his mother and sister balance the family’s meager budget. One day young Doumer thought, “I would like to study and earn more.” Every night thereafter, when his daily labor in the medal shop had been fin- ished, he read scientific works e light of a candle. Sometimes he would asleep over his books with a wicked in in his head. Then his mother or sister would put a moist handker- | sians) chief on his forehead, and the little pprentice boy would go bravely to work again. He worked so hard that at 15 he won his degree. At 18 he was ap- pointed assistant master in a small school at Remiremont, in Lorraine. His dream had materialized. He had become tomebody! Now he could earn more and more. Defeated Boulanger. Doumer. entered politics in 1887. and wss elected Deputy for the Department of the Aisne, being gratified at beating the famous Gen. who | had aspired to be dictator of France. But his great opportunity came when | he was appointed governor general of Indo-China in 1897. He remained in that post for six yeirs and proved to e a first-rate administrator, bringing about many reforms in the colony. | He also has a remarkable record of solid public service. As Senator, min- ister, chairman of the Budget Commis- sion, president of the Chamber of | Deputies and later of the Senate, he has been a stalwart figure, defending sound finance and the national honor. In the holocaust of the World War he rave four sons to the republic—and this explains why he shrugs his shoul- ders with a certain bitterness when veople try to represent him as a “war man.” “I have suffered from war.” he said to me on the eve of the election. “More than any one in the world, I {have suffered from it in my flesh and /in my soul. Why should T not hate war with my soul and my heart?” Fight War's Horrors. “Whenever 1 hear of war, I go to the churchyard and kneel down before the \graves of my four sons. This is suf- ficient—for me to swear that as far as [ am concerned. never, never again shall we see the horrors we have seen.” And the first thing he did on the day |after his election was to go to these four graves and remain silent there for a long time. You may be sure that he repeated his oath there and swore that “never, never again” . . France, during her long, agitated his- tory, may have had more brililant chiefs of state, but she has not had any who could be called more honest, unselfish, more austere, I saw him leave Ver- where he had been escorted by a squadron of I saw him pass by the gi- gantic equestrian statue of Louis XIV, which stands in the middle of the courtyard. And it seemed to me that the great king had on his bronze lips no smile of pity for the little apprentice boy from a Montmartre shop who was passing near him. For this former prentice boy symbolizes two g ies upon which France sets the highest price—work and honesty. Labor From Porto Rico Filipino immigration to Hawaili will be sugar men of this territory to consider again the project of importing Porto Ricans. Many years ago the sugar planters brought to the islands for field labor a considerable number of Porto Ricans. The experiment is regarded as only moderately successful. Many of the imm ts were not of the agricultural class at all, having been recruited from citizs and towns. G Most of them did not stay long at or other towns. Follo planters turned to other sources—Sj and Portugal, Manchuria 3 , the Philippines. This was after laborers from Japan were eliminated through the “gentle- men’s 'ment” of 1 between the United States and the Japanese gov- ernment. But the increasing agita- tion to bar Filipinos from the United States has created apprehension here lest this source of labor, which has proved excellent, should be closed. Hence the reconsideration of Porto Rico as & reservoir. Importation of Porto Ricans, it is commented, would ald Porto Rico by lightening its unemployment problem, at the same time helping Hawali in getting the necessary 3 wing this, the us- Seen as Aid to Hawaii HONOLULU, Hawaii.—Possibility that | closed by act of .Congress has moved | plantation work, but drifted to Honolulu | pri seeing & competition coming from Ger- man manufactures in the Austrian mar- | ket which would be ruinous to them. In | the same fashion the agrarian elements, both in the Reich and in Austria, were aporehensive. | "In Central Europe generally there was a good deal of skepticism as to the pos- sibility in any immediate time of work- ing out a scheme mutually acceptable to " | the banking. industrial and agrarian in- terests in both countries. Such an | agreement would. at the outset, have |to be both experimental and limited. | Both industrial and agrarian interests would have to be protected in man; details. and the exceptions to tarl union promised to be more considerable than the points of agreement, at least in the first years. _ Thus there was a tendency, notably in Budapest, to see the whole Anschluss gesture as political rather than eco- romic. as an attempt on the part of the Austrian government to call attention | forcibly. alike in Paris and Prague. to (the fact that something must be done ,and done at once to help Austria, if | what was most distasteful to France and | Czechoslovakia was to be avoided. Ger- many. on her part, was moved to what amounted to a calculated indiscretion, permitting the news of agreement to be- come public, much to Vienna's disgust, because of other political circumstances. | Feared Opposition. | In fact, there was the belief that Dr. Curtius, the German foreign ministe: had been moved by two facts, the ap. | parent agreement between France and | Italy over the naval question and the | similar approach of an economic agree- ment between Italy and Austria. As to | the first, it threatened to leave Germany isolated when the disarmament confer- | ence met, since Italy’s main concern in | supporting disarmament proposals was to bring about a reduction of French | naval strength to the Italian level. As to the second. Germany resented the appearance of an Italian competitor in the Austrian market on favorable terms. | It seems fairly clear that Berlin un- | derestimated the effect of its political | maneuver; above all, it did not foresee ”hn the immediate consequence would | be the defeat of Briand for the French presidency, the temporary weakening of ‘hls policy of conciliation and his possi- ble retirement from the French foreign ;nmce. Nor did it rightly gauge the re- | sults of these events upon the British | mind. Least of all could it imagine that Henderson, the British foreign | minister, would be moved to take such a definite stand with Briand at Geneva. and that even Grandi. speaking for Italy, would join Prance in opposing the project. Germany, then, at Geneva was forced to draw in its horns and agree to send the question to the World Court. This, in the premises, was a diplomatic defeat, and the realization of this fact is dis- closed in German comment. Moreover, while no one can forecast the decision of the World Court, it scems rather un- likely that the verdict can afford much satisfaction to the Germans, for the effect of such a décision would mani- festly be to throw Europe into a worse of the | | the security not only of France, but | EUROPE BREATHES EASIER WITH ANSCHLUSS TABLED Austro-German Unity Impossible as Yet, | But Proposals Awaken World to ion in Austria. confusion than was provoked by the | original German gesture. Morally, at least, there can be no ob- Jection to® the eventual union of two German-speaking nations if both desire it, whatever may be the lmlhzrohl- bitions of a treaty of peace which in this respect patently sinned against the principle of self-determination and de- nied to the 7,000,000 of Austrians ex- actly thcse rights to insure which for the Czechs, Serbs, Poles and Rumanians Europe was torn to bits. Nor is it less clear that time has worked against the conceptions of the Paris treaty makers, who hoped Aus- tria would develop as did Belgium, which after the revolution of 1830, by which it escaped from Dutch rule, |sought unicn with France. Instead, Austria has declined economically and at the same time has refused utterly to accept the independence thrust upon her. On my last visit to Vienna I found that after three years the senti- ment in favor of union with Germany had gained enormously and that, while there was no enthusiasm for the proj- ect and an enduring dislike for the North Germans, it had been accepted as_inevitable. Nevertheless the explosion following the recent Austro- German _proposal clearly demonstrated that. while time was working for the Anschluss, the mo- ment was yet in the future when real- ization would be possible, even on the economic side. Both Austria and Ger- many must continue to be large borrow= ers in the world market. and Joans will not be forthcoming while Europe is in | a turmoil, much less will they be avail- |able from a suspicious and hostile France. It is therefore difficult not to believe - that now, on the one hand, German and Austrian financial neces- sities will find some accommodation and, on the other. that the Austrian and German governments, pointing to this result as a practical triumph for their maneuver, will consent to a post- ponement of the larger scheme. Reveals Chaotic Situation. ‘Thus this episode seems likely to have two consequences. On the one hand, it cannot be gainsaid that it has served to call attention to the chaotic polit- ical situation in Europe, which has for a background the unmistakable eco- mnomic and moral disintegration that is proceeding progressively in all of Cen- tral Europe. On the other side, it has emphasized the necessity of action; it has forced even upon the French re- luctant and tardy perception that their political system in Europe is doomed if they cannot find an economic basis. By punishing Briand, France has dis- closed an immutable purpose to pre- vent Austro-German union, but the logic of events has driven it to a con- fiel’lfim of alternative ts for ropean ic reorgan! 3 pite The glowing prospectus. Shch She s glo pro us which French statesmen have put forth in Geneva, that any elaborate and com- plicated machinery can be set. up in 1 year or 10. The very essence the qufio& is . the collision 'fi} two Br rces and coneeptions Te- sult in an eventual acceptance of the need for compromise or in a harden- ing of the opposed wills. In the former case, much can be hoped for; in the latter, we may see toward the end of this year. probably at the meeting of the Assembly of the League of Nations in_September, a real struggle. In any event. Europe has obtained a breathing spell after a bad moment and a real crisis. To say that war might have resulted had there been no court available is an exaggeration. Europe is not war-minded in the present hour; in fact, the impossibility of war is the single point of common agreement throughout the continent. | But what might have happened was an accentuation of the bitterness and a further poisoning of the atmosphere, stiffening the political barriers to any economic recovery. Chance for Adjustment. ‘There is, too. at least a reasonable basis for hope in the analogy betwecn the current situation and that in 1922- 23, which was marked first by the failure of the Genoa conference and then by the occupation of the Rul By the close of 1923 Europe seeme hopelessly ruined. And yet. beginning with the making of the Dawes plan in 1924 and culminating in Locarno in 1925, there followed after collective | madness a period of impressive common sense, with the result that five years {after the Ruhr occupation Europe |seemed well on the way to peace and Pprosperity. Putting the thing at the lowest level, there is at least the chance of a similar transformation. To be sure. nothing Fas actually been accomplished at Geneva. All the elements of dissolu- tion and disagreement remain. But an actual deadlock was averted. a period of tranquillity was allowed. Every one has been pretty plainly scared by the horizons which have been lifted. Now, while the World Court ponders upon the legal aspects of the question, the statesmen have a chance to discuss the political. If they are able to do some- thing positive, the political barrier to the economic recovery of Europe may be lowered, but uniéss they do it is hard to see any prospect of the end of the European phase of the world crisis in any present time. (Copsright, 1931. bv McClure Newspaper Syndicate.) PARIS—With & large number of Americans among the subscribers and patrons, and with Americans also among the members of the preliminary | committee whose labors created the organization, the Marshal Foch Hos- pital is being built at Suresnes, in the suburbs of Paris. The characteristic of this hospital is that it is intended for the middle class, which has been the outstanding victim of the war in France. ‘Today the middle class, at moments of grave illness, is faced with a tragic choice between medical charity and financial disaster. The Foch Foundation now comes to the rescue of this class of patient by building a hospital of 300 vate rooms, where the cost of hos- pitalization will be $2 a day, including medical attention and food. Surgical operations will be performed at a very low ch;‘:fe. Foreigners of moderate means be provided for in beds en- gg:&fl by their respective colonies in Many middle class families in France invested all their money either in French government bonds or in such foreign issues as Russians. Those who held Russian bonds have virtually lost all. Those who iInvested in French bonds prior to the stabilization of the franc have lcst four-fifths of their revenue. When the man or woman of the middie class falls sick it means financial disaster. whatever is done, for the public hospitals dmand payment from those who have means, however é |Americans Aid Foch Hospital in Paris, Devoted to Ills of the Middle Class #mall. while the fees of the private clinics are high. The Foch Hospital will provide for the sick, but there is nothing to provide for the aged, so far as the “new poor™ are concerned. There are homes for the aged among the laboring classes, where no fees are charged. There also are homes for the aged with modest means, where a small annual payment is made. but the waiting list is so long that from 5 to 15 years elapse between application and admission. Today, in the matter of such homes in Paris, there are 4,500 names on the waiting lists for a total accommodation of 3,033. In view of this situation, Paris is considering a scheme for the creation of 2,100 more beds. The cost would be $4,000,000, distributed over a period of 14 years. In the meantime, the “new poor” will not be able to claim what is currently described as “the right to grow old.” (Copsright. 1931.) Thunder TIs All, Though. From the Akron Beacon Journal It's a queer policy that protects American_business in other lands and gives it thunder here at home. P et More Like Martyrdom. - From the Cincinnati Times-Star. A former Mexiran President has be- come & volce teacher: which is still an- other occupation. -3