Evening Star Newspaper, June 7, 1931, Page 27

HAWAII HONORS FOUNDER OF VANISHED DYNASTY Once More Sings “Aloha Oe,” the Fare- well of a Race That Could Sing But Could Not Rule. BY JAMES W. BENNETT. VERHEAD rides the moon, young. but beginning to pre- sage the opulent curves of ma- turity. In the distance the Kcolau Mountains are indis- tinct purple masses. On the persistent obbligato of the wind comes the thump, thump, thump of a-great gourd, pounded alternately by the heel and the fingers of a supple hand. The sound shivers the air with & queerly penetrating beat. It is profoundly disturbing; it frets the blood. Suddenly the esrfe, guavering voice of a Hawailan rises in a chant that is centuries old. . . . A troop of Girl Scouts comes prancing upon the wooden platform and—so help me— they dance the hula, As performed by these youngsters, the hula is raphy. It is done with precision, with a cerrain amount of beauty, but without the least hint of the passion and fire which have made the dance world fa- mous. There is no suggesiion that the hula was a sacred dance, a ritual en- acted by init'ates at the time of plant- ing to glve pleasure to the high gods—so that these same gods m their benefi- cence would make fertile the flelds of taro. The dance, which was intended to evoke the forces of nature, to bring into being a rhythmic sympathy between man and the unknown potentialities of the universe—that is the d2nce which new is performed in Honolulu as & civic duty. Retain Old Customs. It is an attempt of the Hawatlans, partly ludicrous and partly pathetic, to keep alive old customs and memories. Even this travesty of a hula can con- jure up recollections. And the occasion of this performance—Kamehameha day —seems largely an attempt at reminis- cence. This is no festival foisted upon the islanders by chambers of commerce and the publicity departments of steam- ship lines, interested in decorative pos- ter effects—as are some of the holidays the native Polyneslans have come to ac- cept with a quiet compracency. This celebration, which is held on June 11 each year, is to honor Kame- hameha, the great King, by song and dance, as chiefs have always been pla- cated and pleased. It i last effort of the Hawaiians to indulge in retrospect, to think lingeringly of the monarchy which Kamehameha founded, to recall the glamorous days, the spa- clous. free days under their own 50 ereigns. It is a pageantry of kings, pro- Jected in the mutations of music. Bustle Surrounds Statue. Across the square, where the statue of Kamehimeha stands, comes the rattle of a tramcar, the squeak of brakes, the strident blast of an automobile horn— all the usual noises appersaining to city life. The dark king. clad in a loin cloth and wearing about his shoulders a gild- ed cloak, is an incongruous figure in modern_Honolulv. Yet tnis metropolis of broad thorougntares of pristine, sub- stantial buildings, Americanized, up to the moment, only a little more than 100 years ago was the hamiet of grass huts which Kamehameha made his capital. Between Kamehameha's conquest and tonight's celebration lies a century of American_energy. So to commemorate a conquest and | the founding of a dynasiy the young girls prance, the choral socleties vie with | each other in singing old chants, a stout man blows at a flute. Yet it is not in their effcrts at entertainment that the essence of the festival is to be found, but in the audlence—that remnant of Hawali that laughs and croons and sways its shoulders unconsciously to old rhythms. Dress Remains. ‘There are ancient women, tall and proud cf carriagz, wearing the costumes with which they graced the 125t court— the holokus in black satin, cut after the Mother Hubbard pattern that the mis- sionaries imposed on the natives. For a hundred-odd years ago the grim mis- sionary ladies who descended frm the brig Thaddeus bent on the conversion of the islanders averted their eyes hastily from the naked brown bodies of the natives garlanded with flower leis. With feverish energy they worked, snipping at their bolts of calico, cut- ting and sewing. fashioning garments to hide the sound flesh that was so ab- | horrent to their sight. They hurriedly evolved the moumou from their ruffied nightgowns, the holcku with paneled back and dipping train from the design of thefr dressing gowns. The Hawaiian women docily donned these clothes, wore them at work in the taro patches and swimming along the reef. The sun could not reach their drenched bod'es quickly enough as they lay on the beach, and the sharp wind that blows perpetually over the moun- ! tains chilled them. The result was Ppneumonia, tuberculosis — the sudden decimation’ of a race. The auto-da-fe was no more deadly. But those who survived the missionaries’ unhy- genic attempt at civilization retained a costume which was peculiarly fitted to their languorous grace. Figure Out of Past. So tonight these old women in creak- ing satin are figures out of an opulent past. About their heads some have bound the coronet of feathers which was formerly an insignia of rank. Oth- ers wear nigh Spanish combs of carved tortoise shell. Some have thrown across their shoulders embroidered China shawls brought from Canton by sea- faring men. And these relics, the comb intended for & beauty in Lima, the shawl des- | gined for a sweetheart in Boston, are fndicative of the position that Hawaii formerly held. It was a halting place after weeks of monotonous sea wastes; a peaceful spot in which the mariners could refill their water casks and re- plenish their stores. A haven in which to rest after the blistering calm of southern seas and the savage, wrecking storms of the north. The land was hospitable, the women _enchanting. Many a sailor, rather than put to sea again to face the Roaring Forties and the merciless cold of the Horn, stayed in the islands. Why should he gamble on his chances of the next world when paradise was to be found here? So the sandalwood boxes of the Hawailan women became the repository of Asian treasures, and their hearts held the memories of many conquests. Now, even in age, there is a suave octry in the furtive motions of these | awailans. The voices on the platferm | subtle | weave in weird minors. By allusion, by exaggerated metaphor, the liquid vowel sounds convey an innu- «endo guessed by the natives alone. The | old women laugh and slap their knees: the old men chortle. There is that sense of nostalgia which Hawaiian harmonies inevitably arouse. Remember Hula of Past. ‘The cadence of the music is the same as in the past. It is easy to forget the hoydenish presence of the young girls on the platform. These old women re- member the hula of the feathered gourd, danced before a high chief in the honey-colored light of a rising moon. They remember the Pikake leis Gaeir young fingers threaded, making garlands of the pearl-like jasmine so that the warmth of their bodies should cause the flowers to open like stars and ve forth their headiest fragrance. ey remember. . . . Zamehameha from his pedestal in the square looks blandly down and ap- ars to listen to the mele chantd in is honor. Many times during his life he heard this four-toned plaintive re- cital of his genealogy, tracing his an- cestry to the men who came over the waters in blue canoes to settle the is- lands; praising his progenitors and giv- g them the attributes of s. . Kamehameha's great destiny had been ged even before his birth, when a highly stylized bit of choreg- | moreover, the | his mother dreamed that he devoured the eyes of high chiefs. At birth he was saved from enemies who desired his destruction by being hidden under a heap of olona net, the fine fiber that is webbed to form the foundation of the feathered mantle of kings. Sym- bolically. enough, Kmnehameha upon maturity managed to place about his shoulders the cloak of sovereignty. For finally he wore the golden, shim- mering cape of oo feathers—the tiny plumes of wh'ch had been hoarded for centuries, since each bird yielded but a single feather that was plucked from under one wing. ‘Warriors Found Dead. Luck, which had protected his arrival into the world, continued to direct the destiny of Kamehameha. Early in his career, when he was occupled with the subjugation of the Big Island, a force of 3,000 men marched to oppose his small army. The enemy camped for the night on the slopes of Kilauea— and with the gray dawn the figures were seen to be intmobtle, lifeless. Pele, the Fire Goddess of the volcano, had sent forth a cloud of sulphurous smoke and stricken the warriors with death. After this signal favor of the goddess it was no wonder that Kamehameha was regarded as a leader favored by heaven. Pele was always looked upon as the protectress of the dynasty, a deity amenable to the supplications and the whims of the family. On one occa- sion Kamehameha cut off a lock of hair to place it in a lavastream so that her wrath might be appeased and a village saved from aunnihilation. The charm still seemed efficacious in a more mod- ern era, for one of Kamehameha's last descendants, the obese and petulant Princess Ruth, chartered a steamer in 1881 when the volcano was in eruption, sacrificed a lock of her abundant tresses and—so the Hawailans aver— saved the city of Hilo from destruction. Captive Organized Army. in fortuitous circumstances worked in favor of Kamehameha when a boat- swain from a British ship rowed ashore end was captured by the islanders. This was & certaln John Young, a Lancastershire man. Gaining the con- fidence cof the King, his status of prisoner gradually changed to that of counselor. He organized the army of Kamehameha on a sound basis, drilled arms—the flintlocks for which he had bartered sandalwocd—and a few brass cannon. Supported by Young, Kame- hameha was enabled to lead his fleet of red-sailed war canoes from island to island to subdue rival chieftains and 2dd to his conquests—until finally all the eight islands were for the first time in history dominated by one ruler. Kamehameha's supreme moment was the battle thet gained Oahu—the island_on which Honolulu is situated. Beach. All day they fought, driving trails of tangled verdure. The Oahuans were brave, but their spears and jave- lins were uceless before the cannon fire of Kamehameha's white man. Up and still farther upward the Oahuans made their way, retreating along the Nuuanu path. They made their last stand at a cleft where, between two peaks, the trade wind rushed with the force of a gale. Below lay Oahu, like a contour map molded in suave green— spread there beyond the precipice that dropped a sheer thousand feet. There, at the Pali, the Oahuans still strug- | gled—until Kamehameha's fighting |men flung them one by one over the | cliff. And Kamehamehs, at the brink | of the Pali, stood in his flaming feather cloak—King of all island Kings. This was the man who founded the happy line of Hawalian sovereigns, the man whose name is commemorated in dance and song. Musically, the history of Hawali may be traced through the succeeding cen- tury with surprising accuracy. Each phase of the islands’ develcpment is marked by a new rhythm. Liholiho, Foppish King. Kamehameha's _successor, Liholiho, was the foppish King who ordered the missionary ladies to tailor him tucked and ruffled linen shirts and coats of bright blue broadcloth. In his time the ancient mele, the four-toned chant which recounted the genealogies of chiefs and great deeds of prowess, was gradually supplanted. The missionaries introduced new notes to the Hawaiian ear; they taught their converts slow, solemn hymns. So the native songs |of this period are lilting, curiously reminiscent versions of New England hymn tunes. Often the softly voweled words are jolly and rather broad their implications; the rhythm is twisted to the swinging hips of hula [ dancers; the grim Puritan measures | become attenuated to a plaintive sweetness. But fundamentally there remains a trace of the stern praise that issued from pious missionary throats. A little later Portuguese sailors in- troduced the guitar to the islands. The instrument under Hawaiian hands was imitated and simplified and became transfcrmed into the ukulele, capable of evoking such wistful minors. Old folksongs of Europe became known. A melodic phrase here and there was added to the island repertoire. At this time, under the third and | fourth Kamehamehas, the Hawalianhs | attained their fullest expression in song. What they gained in music, however, was acquired at a desperately | high price. Ancient taboos had been abruptly demolished and the people had only casually a-similated new tenets of faith and strange customs. The former paternal attitude of the sovereigns was relaxed and resulted in & lethargic neglect. White Men Obtain Land. ‘The feudal system under which the King retained title to all land was abolished—and this land was rapidly cbtained by rapacious white men. Money for the first time became a potent factor in life. In order to se- cure this currency which purchased | the new flimsy luxuries introduced by | the white traders, chiefs went off to the gold ficlds of California—to perish in the ccld altitudes, unable to endure the hardships suffered by the forty- niners. Smallpox and measles, con- veyed in the charitable barrels of ap- parel sent out to clothe the heathen, thinned the ranks of the islanders. For the first time discace and poverty were poignantly experienced. Yet in Hawaii the nights were made memorable by melody. Constantly there were heard the chords of the ukulele; {the harmonies of men's voices, the | alluring minors of the women's songs. | The Hawalians rode in great com- | panies t> each other’s ranch houses | | simply to feast and to sing. The men, steel-spurred, urging their swift mounts, the women, with silken riding skirts that trailed behind them lik> banners, rode to the beach or to the hills— | always sure of hospitality and of | music. Young girls, garlanded with | spiced maile leaves and hibiscus flow- ‘en in their hair, danced the hula— not for the delectation of the gods, {but for the pleasure of the men. It | was from this aspect an era of para- | disaical happiness. Band Is Developed. A new development was made mani- fest in the elegan: 80s of the century | when Kalakaua, the last King, encour- aged the Royal Hawaiian Band that !had lately been organized. From this nucleus grew the band that blares out |its old-fashioned marches from Suppe, | the ublquitous band that plays on Sun- days in the park and on the dock for the arrival and departure of all steam- ers. Henri Berger, the bandmaster im- ported from Germany, who died only (Continued on Fifth §Page.). the men, taught them the use of fire- ;| The King landed his men on Waikiki | | the defenders of Oahu up_the jungle | THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JUNE ‘7, 1931—PART TWO. Wings Over America The Recent Maneuvers Gave a Mere Hint of the Air Armadas of the Future. BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON. HE roaring propellers of the Army’s fighting planes have spoken the answer to problems which have troubled those charged with the Nation's aerial defense for years. The shadows of the squadrons, cast from Chicago to the National Capital, have spelled the way to increased national security. For years officers of the Air Corps have recognized the necessity for operat- ing mass formations. The day of the individual fighting pilot passed early in the World War, and long before the close of the war squadrons were flying and fighting as units. This process has gone forward until it became apparent that the Alr Corps must plan for the operation not only of squadrons but of air brigades and divisions as units. It long ago became clear that if there is another great conflict the war birds will gather in great flocks, the various types depending upon each other for cafety and effectiveness. They will function together as & hunting pack—a scourge of the skies. Down below, among the treetops, fy- ing in the valleys and behind the hill- tops, will roar the deadly attack planes, seeking out and destroying enemy strongholds on the ground. At nearly | the same level may fly small fast bombers, a type now undergoing close study. Fast Pursuit Planes, Above them probably will come fast two-seater pursuit planes, armed fore and aft. This is a type new to Ameri- can aviation, and is the result of man euvers similar to those which have just been concluded, showing forcibly the need for a special type of convoy fight- ing plane. Still higher will come the great bombardment planes with their terrible loads of crashing death. At the highest level of all, out of sight of the naked eye and out of hear- ing of the keenest ear, will fly the human eagles of war—the pursuit pilots. Swathed in leather and fur, depending upon electricity to keep hands and feet | known factors involved. The only real | division. A full air division would have 2,238 airplanes, mostly bombardment and pursuit; 4,000 officers and 29,000 enlisted men. The 1st Provisional Air Division, or- ganized last month, had 672 airplanes, mostly observation types; 720 officers and 644 enlisted men. It was merely a | shadow of a full division, but it served its purpose, and the Army now has a yardstick with which it can measure with some degree of accuracy its re- quirement should the day ever come when it must put its strength into the | skies. The problems the Air Corps had to | solve had to do mainly with the ground arrangements necessary to handle the |operation_of a division of fighting |planes. Problems of command and of communication also were of great im- portance. Entire Division Must Move. An afr division must be ready and able to move on short notice, and to | move rapidly and far. It must move as |a whole—planes and crews, mechanics, supplies, tools, equipment, headquarters, | communications—the whole organiza- | tion. The Alr Corps never had moved | & great serial organization, and could |only theorize on the problems which | would be involved. It found that such |a movement could not be planned on | paper; that there were too many ele- ments of uncertainty, too many un- of command. The ordinary peace-time staff, equipped to handle permanently based and more or less static Air Corps units, cannot spread itself to care for the situation when the units are con- centrated and begin a campaign of mobility. It was found that not only the general and special staffs must be enlarged, but that there must be subor- dinate advance and rear guard staffs to | prepare the way for the movements of a large force and to clear up the work of abandoning a temporary base. ‘This means that Air Corps staff train- | ing must play an increasingly important part in national defense, and that in | case of an emergency requiring mobili- | zation and rapid movement of the Air | Corps there must be thoroughly trained | officers immediately available to care for the greatly expanded work of the staff. ' The maneuvers were designed to test the ground organization of the Alr | Corps. the alrport and airways systems, | command and communications systems | and factors other than those involved | in mere flight training and combat | operation. These aims were realized. Ground Crews Important. It was found that airdrome discipline is just as important as air discipline, | and future operations at all Alr Corps | | posts will stress this phase of training. | Afrdrome discipline involves the han- | diing of units on the ground, and unless | the control on the ground is of a high crder the success of the whole opera- from freezing and goggles from crusting | solutiori lay in actuslly moving &n air | tions may be endangered. with ice and upon oxygen fed them through tubes to sustain life, the pur- suit pilots will patrol the bitter thin- ness of the upper air—flerce atoms in the mightly ocean of sky above the ranges of clouds, up in the frozen spaces where man may not live save by the arts of science. Thus the armies of the air will fight in battlefields six miles high and miles across. The infantry divisions may fight only on a single front. The “front” of the air division extends in all direc- tions, including the vertical. Only Skeleton Division. Though the Army must handle the operations of an air division, largest air unit proposed in the table of organiza- tion, there never had been an air divi- sion’ assembled prior to the exercises of last month. Even that great force was only a skeleton air division, less than a third the combat strength of a full division under conditions as nearly as | possible simulating those of a fleld | campaign. | To solve its prcblems the Air Corps | created the 1st Provisional Air Division. { It simulated the conditons of a great | emergency, and drafted all its planes and a majority of the planes of the National Guard. It summoned for ac- | tive service pilots of the 19 National Guard squadrons and called out for the | first time flying cadets in the Advanced | Flying School, Kelly Field, Tex. The result was the 1st Air Division. Chemically it was the precipitant—the element which alone could resolve the troublous murk of speculation and pre- | cipitate out the hard crystals of fact | which were so eageriy sought. Movement Complicates Command. It was found, first of all, that the rapid movement of a great air force tremendously complicated the problems The maneuvers showed that the prep- aration of airports must include not | only surfacing for normal airplane op- | of planes. At one of the mid-Western | airports the field was usable by the | | planes, but not by gasoline trucks, and | refueling was seriously handicaped. It | finally became necessary to taxi the | planes one by 'ona to the closest point | approachable by the trucks. The rapid servicing and maintenance of large numbers of combat planes at temporary airdromes also revealed rnumber of short cuts which will make for greater efficiency in handling if the nee;rever arises for a mobilization of a great fighting air force. Though the maneuvers revealed that there is not an airport in the country large enough to handle even a quarter of an air division, this is not regarded as a drawback. There is no need for | erations but for refueling and servicing | sirports capable of handling great masses of planes, except perhaps at con- centration points in the center of country. Need for More Airports. In the vicinity of the seacoasts, in- cluding such areas as that around the Capital, the need is for more and smaller airports and flying flelds, the maneuvers showed. In time of war the Air Corps would not have more than a squadron, or at most a group, at any one fleld. Splitting up of the forces in this manner would reduce the danger of destruction if enemy planes should locate a field, and also would reduce the risk of having a great force of planes grounded because of local fogs or thick weather which might close in on one flleld while others a few miles away were clear. Distribution of the squadrons among many small fields, however, creates a need for rapid and utterly dependable communications. The maneuvers brought to the fore a new flying radio station— a big tri-motored transport plane, equipped with complete radio apparatus for operations over considerable dis- tances. This plane was used both as a flying and a bhighly mobile fleld radio station, and much of the communica- tions work of the division went over its antenna. In time of war, however, it is feared the mass of radio messages necessary to handle a large operation would clutter up the ether so badly as to hinder com- munication. The recent maneuvers showed that some other form of com- munication must be considered, and it is possible that small fast courier planes may be adopted for handling messages between temporary airdromes where telephone or telegraphic communica- tions may not exist. Safety Cause for Rejoicing. were conducted was one of the greatest of the Air Corps. The safety record, in- volving 3.150,000 miles of flying without a single death or serious accident, shows the value of high-caliber leadership and thorough training, air officers contend. ‘The maneuvers showed that the exist- ing weather information service set up | Branch of the Department of Commerce is adequate for military operations of |an emergency character along airways where such service is available. There | was no lack of information regarding | weather conditions at any time during the maneuvers, it was pointed out. Communications systems along the Fed- eral airways for the handling of weather and other information also were found to be adequate and of enormous value. The mancuvers proved a vindication of methods of training in force for Na- tional Guard pilots and for the flying cadets at the Air Corps Advanced Flying | School, Kelly Field, Tex. Cadets and ‘GuardAmen were called upon for the first time to participate in a great air demonstration, and acquitted themselves with glory, flying like veterans among veterans, though the cadets are but | little more than fieldglings, not yet having received their wings. It is the belief of those in the Air Corps that the 1931 maneuvers have been of tremendous value to the service and to the country, and that they will |stand as a peace-time milestone in ths | progress of military aeronautics. Revolt on the Campus Students Refuse to Comply With Rah Rah Traditions. BY WALTER RICHARD EATON. GREAT deal of nonsense is talked and written about the genus undergraduate. Dwight Hall) then was for the “Y." for Skull and Bones, numerous freshmen (and a dwindling number of sophomores) would “go out” pretty sure to be tapped As he is the educated, and ings are presumably erected. it is rather cheer- ing to have him thus inteliigently vocal. rson in the process of being ence for whom all the build- And ‘The safety with which the maneuvers | causes for rejoicing to ranking officers | by the Weather Bureau and Aeronautics | This has been especially true since the war. The undergraduate has been vari- ously represented as a rah ah boy, & flaming youth toting a bottle of synchetic gin on his hop, a riotous rowdy, an intellectually doped daily attendant at motion picture shows, an ado- lescent who hasn't a thought in his head except for foot ball, a world-weary youth who can't even be bothered to think about foot ball, a moral an- archist, a stuy little conservative. Probably, if you hunted long and hard enough through our colleges, you could find undergrad- uates who justified each and every one of these descriptions, But while you were hunting you would meet some thousands of quite normal and attractive young men between the ages of 18 or 19 and 22 or 23, who probably work harder than you do (they have to, or get dropped), do a con- siderable amount of thinking and vary among themselves just about as any cross section of the public varies. Generalizing about undergraduates is like generalizing about women—anything you say will sound true, but probably won't be. Undergraduate Changed. Nevertheless, the undergraduate of today has changed from his predecessor before the war. At least, a considerable number of undergradu- ates have changed—enough of them to make an appreciable showing and to act as spokesmen for what is probably a widespread if vague attitude among most of the rest. If you don't believe it, read the Harkness Hoot. The Harkness Hoot is & new magazine pub- lished by Yale undergraduates, and many people assume from its name that it is the mere eternal flippancy of youth. But it is much more than . It is the mouthpiece of what is obviously a genuine attitude of revolt from any of the ac- cepted traditions and standards of the past. Youth, to be sure, is the time of revolt. and al- ways has been. But it has infrequently made it- self intelligently vocal in our colleges, or received much support if it did. In European universities, yes. But not in ours. May Be Last “Tap Day.” Recently Yale celebrated an annual event—Tap day. In nearly all the stories sent out from New Haven was the statement that perhaps it would be the last Tap day held, that a long tradition had possibly come to an end. This may not turn out to be the case, but if it does an article in the most recent Harkness Hoot entitled “The Elks in Our Midst” will have to take a large share of the blame. Tap day, as nearly everybody knows, is the day when all Yale assembles in the quad- rangle and 60 men from the junior class are tap- ped. by the 60 members of the four senior so- ciet'es. All the men who are not tapped are left to think whatever thoughts about themselves the occasion suggests. I knew one youth back in my college days who failed to be tapped and devel- cpad nervous prostration es a reswt, from which he never completely recovered. Lesser tragedies were innumerable. So great was the hold of the senior societies that an underclassman who the faintest hope of making one, bsfore he would so much as whisper the name “Skull and Bones” would first drag you into his inner chamber and lock all the doors. As the president of the Y. M. C. A. (or Laughs at Senlor Societies. Now, out comes the Harkness Hoot this Spring, with an article by a junior who dares in print. and over his own name, to laugh at the senfor societies and their pretentions, to comment with a lot of shrewd common sense on the sad fact that Yale men slave to make the Record board, or the News board or the headship of the religious soclety, not for any love of litera- ture, journalism or religion, but in order to get tapped. He declared of the socleties, “The standards they set up create an artificial distinc- ticn between individuals * * * When the organ- jzations have become a burden and a repressive force, it is time to end the play.” The article was not & sneer, and it is pleasant to record that the author was tapped, though he made the senior who did it come to his room, refusing to sanction the public exhibition of choice. It was a sensible, well reasoned article, based on the belief that the overaccentuation of the socletles, dramatized at Tap day, put a false standard on certain accepted lines of under- graduate achievement and hence was childish and outmoded. It couldn’t have been written, and certainly it couldn't have' been printed at Yale 20 years ago. It shows the undergraduate of today in a new and attractive light. & Nor, to judge by the Hoot, is the Yale under- graduate entirely happy about a'i his new $7.- 000,000 libraries, house plans ang-#he like. In an article by a senior, called “The liadness at New Haven,” we find this interesting and faintly Meckenesque paragraph: “The English university’s cult of the gentleman has invaded Yale and Harvard, both of whom proclaim themselves as primarily adherents of the ideal of the scholar. To begin with, of course, the importation of the house plan is a steal. It is an attempt (with the help of girder Gothic and unlimited Harkness millions) to ape the natural evolution of seven centuries at Oxford by a revolution of seven years at Yale. It is the wish to give modern American colleges a varnish of the ivied softness and social sanctity native to the English institutions. It is akin to the average American's abject obeisance to visiting European royalty or to the mid-Western grocery salesman’s urge to be a grand exalted wizard of the Order of the Caribou. But the cult of the gentleman, perhaps fitted to England’s tea sip- ping hierarchy, has no place in a serious Ameri- can university. If Yale desires to produce scholars, as it professes to do, its concern cannot be with elegant substitutes and flowery romanc- ings. In thmg all its new emphasis upon social life, architectural magnificence and size, it is losing sight of the true ideal of a university. It has gone into a mad chase for doubled millions of money; it is erecting dozens of buildings quite out of line with a sane development, merely to comply with the offers of philanthropists. It is still slave to capitalism and supine to the seduc- tion of unneeded endowments.” Isn't Impressed With Gifts. All of which may or may not be frue, but at any rate it is the voice of an undergraduate not afrald tv up in the presence of his elders, ‘M unaware of what he_ thinks. it is pretty obvious, from this and other pas- sages, that the undergraduate of today isn't greatly impressed by gifts of millions and by huge libraries and chapels. What he would much rather have is a larger number of inspir- ing teachers. To turn from Yale to Harvard, we find a somewhat similar revolt which has been going on this Spring, led by the student daily paper, the Crimson. Harvard hasn't any Tap day, and now that the house plan is working it begins to look as if it wouldn't much longer have any societies, which have never been secret and which chose their members chiefly according to the social positions of the boys' families. But Harvard is imminently threatened with a new chapel. is chapel, for which graduates have raised nearly a million dollars, is to be a memo- rial to the Harvard men who died in the Great War. There is already at Harvard a huge. in- credibly ugly and almost totally disused memo- rial hall for the Civil War dead. It is proposed to put the new chapel in the yard, where the present chapel stands, across from the huge and ugly pile of the university library. To balance the huge mass of the library this chapel is to have a mammoth tower. Speaks for Masses. ‘When the news broke an undergraduate wrote in the Crimson that two architectural wrongs didn't make a right and that to balance the library with a huge tower was “like trying to balance a hippopotamus with a giraffe.” And he went on, “The administration has long pursued the attitude of benevolent disregard of under- inion. as well as of opinion of any , royal or everr divine omniscience may in many cases be justified. ltixt e voice of the masses should at least make itself felt in protest. This, in other words, is a call to arms. When, 50 years from now, the memorial chapel stands with the still unburnt memorial hall as a monument to uselessness, it should be known that the present college generation at least ‘was in opposition.” 2 ‘The grounds for this opposition, which was widespread in the college, were partly archi- tectural, grtly a feeling that to put a million dollars into a memorial which would be visited by just about 15 undergraduates a day (few, if any, more attend chapel, now that it is not compulsory) was a wasteful, sentimental gesture toward an outmoded past, and quite strongly a feeling that the war were better forgotten than perpetuated in a Christian church. ‘Would Include Germans. Many undergraduates urged that if the chapel must be built the names of the three Harvard men who fell fighting on the German side should also be inscribed therein. To hurl, as many graduates did, the term “pro-German” at them made no impression. They were babes when the war was fought. That kind of hate is not in ‘With cold logic_they reiterated that a Christian memorial to Harvard men who died fighting for what they believed was right should include the names of those who were born to slieve Germany was right. (Continued- d Sixth Page.) | | LATIN AMERICA FAVORS UNIONS TO END DEPRESSION Interesting Developments Along Lines of International Co-operation Looked for at Washington Conference. BY GASTON NERVAL. N the short period of two weeks two major commercial conferences aim- ing at the development of interna- tional trade have gathered in the United States. ‘The first, at Washington, was attend- ed by 1,000 delegates representing at least 48 nations of the world. The other, at New York City, was made up of representatives of all exporting Amer- ican concerns engaged in foreign trade. Both the Washington world conven- tion of the International Chamber of Commerce and the meeting of the Na- tional Foreign Trade Council in New York were characterized by the pre- eminent role that matters of interna- tional trade played in them. An in- creased commercial interchange among nations and the influence that this will have in bringing about world-wide eco- nomic recovery were the two outstand- ing m"gxu of discussion. In the midst of the gravest economic depression that the world has ever known, the outcome of these confer- ences and the significance of their con- clusions are directly augmented by the critical circumstances of the moment. Depression, with its four malefic horse- men—unemployment, wage cutting, tax increase and suppression of credit—has been pushing backward foreign trade statistics all over the world. May Speed Up Recovery. Remedies suggested by experts to stop this extraordinary decline in interna- tional trade have, therefore, a particu- lar significance at this moment, for they may have a marked influence in speeding up the recovery of an eco- nomically stricken world. As I said before in commenting upon the Chamber of Commerce Tntheflng in Washington, whether the delegates were justified or not in describing the eco- nomic situation of the world in such discouraging phrases as they did, and whether they were right or wrong in doubting the optimistic predictions of | Uncle Sam, one outstanding conclusion appears to emerge out of these confer- ences—the recognition by the leading nations of the earth that economic in- terdependence is the predominating law today. In the case of the National For- eign Trade Council, which convened in New York last week, such a recognition was made by the representatives of the | most important industrial and exporting firnis in the United States. Co-Operation Stressed. In both conferences the principle of international co-operation in commer- cial matters was stressed above every- thing else, a: out of them came stronger than ever the almost axiomatic truth that the progress and prosperity of any particular country is inevitably bound up with the progress and pros- perity of all humanity. ‘The best evidence of the recognition of these principles may be found in the open and energetic attack upon high tariffs and protective import duties which characterized the two recent com- ! mercial congresses. High tariffs were nearly unanimously condemned as ob- structive barriers standing in the way of commercial interchange, and even pointed to as one of the causes which originated the present economic crisis. The criticism of high protective tariffs made by American business men gath- ered in New York was almost as strong as that which recently preceded it in Washington by the delegates of several foreign countries. Moreover, now comes & communique from the Pan-American Union an- nouncing that the forthcoming fourth Pan-American Commercial Conference, to be held in Washington next October, will devote its time principally to the “elimination of trade barriers” among :he republics of the Western hemisphere, describing as such “high customs tariffs, import and export prohibitions and re- strictions, and an excessive degree of governmental protection.” Denounces High Tariffs. But where high-hatted high tariffs received the greatest blow was at New York last week, when Ambassador Mal- bran of Argentina denounced them be- fore the Foreign Trade Council’s annual convention. I had occasion to attend the New York meeting, and was frankly impressed by the favorable reception the criticisms of Ambassador Malbran against the American protective tariff met from American business leaders | gathered to hear him. In his discussion of trade relations between the United States and his own country the Argentine diplomat ex- plained, with the aid of statistics and official figures, how the totals of Argen- tine exports to the United States had | been cut almost to half by the highly protectionistic tariff approved by the 1930 Congress. Specifying the cases of linseed, wool, hides and beef, the articles imported in largest quantify from Ar- gentina, Ambassador Malbran described the Hawley-Smoot tariff as a “prohibi- tive” tarif! instead of a protective one, ‘The case of linseed, according to tht Ambassador, gives the best example. The tariff on Argentine linseed has been revised 20 times upward, and yet the United States produces less linseed now than she did in 1921, when the tariff was one-third as hig! h. Results in Reduced Exports. In the course of his remarks Ambas- sador Malbran said that although Ar- gentina has in recent years been one of the best markets for United States man- ufactured products, the serious harm caused to "Argentine commerce by high customs duties in American ports has already resulted in a considerable de- crease in the totals of exports from the United States to the South American republics. Besides, he mentioned the possibility that Argentina may be com- pelled to emberk on a high tariff policy to defend herself against the tariff walls of the United States and other nations. To prevent an international tariff war and to help the world out of this tremendous economic depression, Am. bassador Malbran advocated the elimi- nation of dangerously high customs duties. In denouncing high protective tariff walls Ambassador Malbran was only interpreting & sentiment popular throughout Latin America. Particularly in these critical days, Latin American statesmen seem to have come to the conclusion that only the gradual reduc- tion of import duties among them may compensate for the losses that economic agents of an almost indefinable char- acter have wrought. Suggest Economic Unions. They have gone even further. They are suggesting now international agree- ments to form economic unions or tarift unions, by means of which the products of one country would have free entrance | to all those participating in the union. Not long ago, in commenting on the | opening of the conference of the Inter- national Chamber of Commerce in { Washington, I mentioned briefly some of the recent and most important moves toward economic unions in Latin America. Among these the plan offered by the prominent Argentine economist, Alfredo Bunge, for the tariff union of Argen- tina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Bo- livia, is most -interesting. The agree- ment would provide for an annual re- duction of 20 per cent in tariffs, put- ting the five republics on a free-trade basis in five years. five repub- | lics, comprising some 6,000,000 square kilometers, have a population of more than 21,000,000 people, and their wealth is estimated at more than $30,000,000,- 000. United, they would possess one- third of the world’s flaxseed, 51 per cent of its corn and 30 per cent of its wheat. Chile Favors Union. | Since my article was written men- | tioning the plans suggested by Bunge, | Ferrara, Varona and others for ec | nomic unions in Latin America, 8 new | development, and an important one, has | taken place. The Chilean foreign min- | ister, Senor Antonio Planet, has issued a public statement to the press of the | continent indorsing the idea of customs ;unlons in that part of the world. Senor Planet'’s statement, coming | from & high government official of one |of the leading South American re- | publics, carries, of course, especial sig- | nificance. Besides, it acquires further importance in view of the proxmnity of the next Pan-American Commercial Conference, in which the Chilean gov~ !rnl;‘r!nt ?‘fll be represented. “Present conditions,” sa; Senor Planet, “prove the ouz't impors tance of inter-Ame economic coe operation in employing, with mutual advantage, our own productive forces. The great depression of world business is destructive to our vitality, because we lack means of collective defense, and because we aggravate the internae tionally troubled situation with local barriers which our ancestors had ai~ ready considered contrary to the futurg welfare of the American continent.” In another part of his official come munique Senor Planet makes this ine | teresting statement: “If thought is | given to the social order, which is the basis of nations, we cannot fail to rec- ognize that the working classes aspire in the American continent to a greateg welfare, the attainment of which 1s possible only by encoudaging the free fixrcu!suon of wealth across the frope fers.” All of which seems to indicate the§ Latin America is turning more and | more to international co-operation o | the eolution of her economic troubles. Interesting developments along thesa lines may be expected in the forthcol ing Pan-American Commercial Confere ence, when the delegates of the 21 yee publics of the New World will sit wow gether in the Hall of the Americas of the Pan-American Building at Waabe ington. (Copyright. 1931.) Post Office Is Held Vital to Development Of Aviation and Merchant Marine of U. S. (Continued From First Page.) tion we will be able to revive and maintain our shipbuilding industry, that eventually we will again be car- rying substantially all of our own com- merce in our own ships, and regain the commercial and maritime independence which was ours a hundred years ago. ‘The air and ocean mail are the out- standing special services entrusted to the Post Office Department. As you see, these services, in their more im- portant phases, are not strictly postal in character. I have time to speak briefly of but one of our problems which has to do with the regular postal business. During recent months, post office leases have been the subject of considerable publicity, from which some of you may possibly have gained the notion that there has been some ir- regularity, or even fraud, connected with contracts for the rental of post office buildings. While this matter has been under investigation now for more than a {elr by a select Senate com- mittee of which Senator Blaine of Wis- consin is chairman, I am glad to be able to say that no evidence whatever of irregularity in connection with any post office lease has been developed. Started in St. Paul The lease inquiry had its beginning in charges which were presented to a Federal grand jury in St. Paul, Minn., to the effect that there had been fraud in the negotiation of the lease on the parcel post station in that city. This particular case has been before the courts since early in 1928, when the payment of rent was suspended by the department. About two weeks ago, the United States Court of Claims entered a judgment in favor of the owners of the buu%{or the unpaid rent, no evidence whatever having been pre- sented to sustain the clal that the lease had been fraudulently negotiated. ‘While %ev;r\} ddedlln': e‘f‘l:cflnuy disposes of ly definite ci of fraud made in connection vltrh'uany postal lease contract, it does nct alter the fact, which we have repeatedly called to the attention of Congress, that it is poor business for the Government to lease from vate owners the quarters which it requires for post office stations, branches and garages in large cities. The department now v\ll'mlu out the rental cost of about llo?mefl‘:%"{ ;:.r‘ Because of these bufidings were specially located and specially designed to meet the peculiar requirements of the Postal Service, in such cases the rates of rental are necessarily high enougn to permit the owner to recover sube stantially ail his investment, olus & moderate profit, within the term of the lease. It needs no complicated analysis to demonstrate that such an arrangement is costly and unbusiness- like in the extreme. During the term of the lease, the Government must pay the full value of the building in rental and at the end of the term has nothing to show for its expenditure, since the building_remains the property of the leasor. It is obvious that there would be & substantial saving in_ operating costs if the department had the author- ity to erect its own buildings for these purposes. ‘The President submitted a recom- mendation to Congress at its last ses sion for legislation granting this authe: ity, and a bill was introduced accora- ingly in the House by Representative Kelly of Pennsylvania, which, after hearings by the Committee on Public Buildings and Groun as passed by the House without a dissenting vote. The measure was unanimously reporse™ to the Senate by the Senaie Committes on Public Buildings and Grounds. bue was blocked on the floor by the objec- tion of Senator La Folletts of Wiscon- sin, colleague of Senator Blaine, chair- man of the committee investigating post office leases. So, for the present, the department - is still saddled with the extravagant leasing system. We expect, however, to submit this matter again to Con- gress in December, and, since the next session wiil be the long session. we be lieve that it will not be possible for a single Senator to defeat this necessary * legislation. Meantime, we are making no long-term leases on extensive metro- politan properties. In instances where it is apparent that it would be more economical for the Government to ac- ‘quire and own buildings for stations, branches or garages, we a3 twpaking temporary arrangements for quarters’ as our present leases expire, with a view to removing to Government - owned quarters as promptly as possible after ss _has authorized the building program which we have recommended: In conclusion, may I say that it is & - great pleasure to have an opportunity to bring our problems directly to the attention of those who use and support X