Evening Star Newspaper, July 26, 1931, Page 17

Editorial Page Part 2—8 Pages EDITORIAL SECTION he Sunday Star. DEBT HOLIDAY IS HELD BUT MERE PALLIATIVE Pause Between Crisis and ' Catastrophe Is French View—Political Agreements Necessary to Saving Germany. BY CONSTANTINE BROWN. HERE is a story that the day the news_reached Washington that Becretary of State; Ogden Mills, ing Secretary of the Treasury, and Dr. Fais, the economic adviser of the State Department, went to call on the French Ambassador to_congratulate him for the wise step France had decided to e, Mr. Claudel, affable as ever, shook hands effusively and ordered the butler 1o bring a bottle of champagne to cel- ebrate the happy event. The four men raised their glasses and the French Ambassador said, “Let's drink to the s and & catastro- phe.” Since T have not been a witness to this meeting, I cannot absolutely vouch for the story. but it does, without doubt, mnt exactly what the French are g about both plans of the President. The intergovernmental holi- day and the extension of the short- term credits to Germany are consid- ered by the French and by many others as mere palliatives. They will give sat- isfactory results if some more than or- dinarily clever men can find a solution of the difficult Franco-German political pfovlem. It will be only a postpone- ment of the catastrophe which might gl\unge Germany and some of the other. Turopean states into chaos if a solu- tica of the problem is not found within & short time. . Question of the Hour. As things stand today, the intergov- ernmental debt holiday has been rele- gated to the second place. The burning question in Europe at present is, “Can Germany pull through without a crisis by a mere extension of the short-term credits which she has received in the course of the last few years?* If she can't, will the other nations help her out by offering her some new credits? ‘The reports received during the last 48 hours seem to indicate that the Ger- man nation is disappointed at the result of the London conference of the seven representatives of the leading powers of the world. The Germans seem to have expected some more concrete results than those cbtained. The frame of mind of the Germans can be compared with that of a much harassed chief of a family whose business has gone bad. The unruly family, hungry and des- perate. is told by him that he has been invited by his creditors, to whom he owed a few thousand dollars, to come and meet them. The object of the meet- ing is to put him on his feet again. He goes to meet his creditors, leaving behind a hungry, but more cheerful, family. When he returns, the family plys him with questions: “Well, what have you done?” “How much money have they given you?" “Will mother have enough to buy food tomorrow?” The poor man, somewhat embarrassed, replied: “Well, they have been very decent to me. They have in- troduced me to all their rich friends, they gave me a wonderful party, and they were really generous; they agreed to extend the payment of the money I owe thém for another few months.” “But what about some more cash, and how are we going to feed ourselves this and next week? It's all very well that you enjoyed yourself, but what about us: are we not going to eat?” ‘The embarrassment of father becomes greater when he has to say: “Well, I don't know; they told me that they would like to give me some more cash, but they really could not afford it.” Bruening's Position. ‘This fairly represents Chancellor Pruening’s position when he returned to Germany from London. The differ- ence is that he has not to deal with @ small family. His people are, accord- ing to Berlin dispatches, dissatisfled and are likely to prove extremely un- guly and unpleasant. Very few people, even among our own officials in Washington, believe that the extension of the old credits will prove helpful to Germany. It is generally ad- mitted that what Germany needs today is a new, fairly substantial credit to meet a_difficult_psychological situation in the Reich. The theory of the exten- sion of credits would be all right under pormal circumstances. But the condi- tions in Germany today are pot normai; the population is exasperated, and the credit and banking situation is suffer- ing from the lack of confidence within the country and outside. The German government may take the most stringent measures to prevent the flight of capi- tal. It is a little late now, because most of the money already has been transferred abroad. The fact that Ger- many need not pay the short-term cred- | its will help Germany only moderately, because it is very doubtful whether she could have paid them even if they had not been extended. . What Germany Needs. ‘What that country needed was & | new supply of actual loans to enable her to put her house in order. Yet at the London conference the Ger- man representatives did not ask for such loans and the other natio:; did not offer her any. All this seems somewhat puzzling to those who have followed the recent developments. The situation appears to be as follows: The Germans before leaving Berlin were apparently decided to ask for a Joan of $350,000,000. The French, in their conversations with Secretary Stimson and Arthur Henderson, the British forelgn secretary, told them that they thought that the only possible salvation for Germany was to obtain a substantial loan. The matter was discussed by all concerned in Paris before the representatives of Great Britain, the United States, France and Germany - left for London. All agreed that a loan would solve the problem, but the French insisted on having guarantees. These guarantees were too much for Germany and neither the American nor the British delegates could ask Germany to accept the French demands. The French wanted, wot only a complete control of the German customs, but also certain po- litical renuncistions, which the Ger- man prime minister could not agree to make. - Had he accepted them he might just as well have remained in ce or in Britain; his people would r have allowed him to cor-e back. 'o accept them would have meant to yeduce the German Republic to the same status as Turkey had under the regime of the “Red Sultan,” Abdul Hamid. Every source of the German income would have been controlled by forelgners. was ruled out, it was all the representa- go ' to London short ~ credit extension, ly as a palliative, and then wait for de ments. Time is a great healer and some people hope that in this short respite Germany has ob- | that and | in order and inspire again the con- fidence cf the foreign investor. Many people would ask, why, if a loan could help substantially the Ger- man situation, has not Great Britain and the United States joined together and given Germany the three or four hundred million dollars so badly needed. After all, this is not such a tremendous sum when one thinks that the Ameri- can investors alone have a little over two and a half billion dollars in Ger- many already. The answer seems to be that the money market in London and New York cannot absorb today another three - hundred - million - doliar loan for Germany. Great Britain’s Position. ‘The financial situation in Greut Britain is difficult. The budget is in Ted and the exchequer will probably | be compelled to borrow from the pub- Jic_in order to make up this year's deficit. Furthermore, the French are pressing Great Britain hard. Since 1928, when France started on the up- financially, that country has on the London market short-term notes amounting . to e six hundred and fifty million dollars. weeks the French, in what they can do, have started with- drawing almost daily the short-term credits from London, bringing them back to France. If one glances over the financial reports from London one finds almost every day that another ten or fifteen miilion dollars in. gold has been transferred by airplane from London to Paris. The pound sterling. which has been like a rock ever since its stabilization some seven years ago, has begun to shake and is deymchtm‘ rapidly. The Bank of England was compelied on Thursday to raise the rate of discount by 1 per cent, to the great detriment of British trade and industry. Consequently, although the sum required by the Germans appears modest for a rich nation like Great Britain, in the present circumstances it is too large. The situation in New York is mnot much bett:r. There is, of course, a great deal of liquid money on the New York market. But our bankers have to keep in mind the requirements of this and other countries outside Germany. this coming Fall the New York market may be called upon to provide sums for | the refinancing of the railroads: it keeps in mind the possibility of assisting in some way or other the farmer's situa-| tion, Uncle Sam may also be compelled to draw on his bankers, and if the gen- eral economic situation does not improve it is possible that New York may have to provide money to assist in some scheme of helping the unemployed this year. Besides thes: possible require- ments it is not unlikely that the British may want to transform the short credits they still owe France into long-term credits in America. South American Situation. Besides these possibilities there is the difficult situation of South America, which though potentially rich is passing at present through a severe crisis and our bankérs may be compelled to come to the rescue of some of the South American republics, which may not be in a position this year to pl¥ the in- terest on money borrowed Irom the American public. In-addition: to these possible necessities there is a serious situation in regard to the German mu- nicipal loans. The towns which have bor- rowed largs sums in America in recent years may not be able to pay their in- terest. A suspension of payments of the interest on those loans may create a harmful panic_among the American bond holdsrs. To avoid this it is said, the banks may be compelled to give the German municipalities sufficient money to pay the interest due in the course of the next few months. Consequently neither the American nor the British banks are anxious to pour new money into Germany, especially when the po- litical situation between France and the Reich is obscure. France Could Lend Aid. Prance, of course, is today in a posi- tion to help out Germsny financially without batting an eyelash. = France is comparatively as rich as the United Statcs. It has more gold than any other country, with the exception of the United States, and has less frozen assets than any other country in the. world. Franze knows her strength, but is not willing to move unles. she can get a political bargain which would insure her a permanent hegemony in f After a few seeming defeats such as her failurz to prevent the German-Aus- trian tariff debt holiday, she wants a spectacular. political victory. She has Germany in the hollow of her hand. At the London conference this week her finance minister, Pictri, informed those present that she was , if neces- sary, to take 80 per cent of the $350,- 000.000. _Gemnny needed provided . ‘The French were told thr.t if Germany were not immediately assisted ther: might be trouble in tha‘ country and | that F.ance herself might be infected should civil war break out in Germany. France was told that int:rnal trouble is contagecus.and Gernany is too close to France’s border for her to réemain indifferent to what may happen across the Rhine. The French shrugged their should-rs and replied: “You all know what to do if you want our money.” What could the representatives of the other nations do except to end meet- ing with Tagnitoontly . optimistic speeches and press communiques and offer Germany relief by extending the short-term credits, which she could not have paid us or anybody else in any case. Political Understanding Needed. Everybody who attended the London Conference left with the conclusion that the situation cannot. be cleared up. un- less there_is. a. political understanding between France and Germany. All those in close contact with the recent developments realize, although they may not openly say so, that.in a highsr plane economics and politics meet and cannot be divorced from each other. Our public men now realize this and | be the administration, h its agents at present in Europe, is doing its best to help the two anta Can'do hothing bt give advice and et ut give ad: and act as friendly mediators between the two governments. We cannot encourage Germany to take decisions which might prove fatal to its present system of gov- ernment, neither have we the power of asking France to renounce her political ambitions, which in the mind of every good Frenchman mean assuring the se- curity of his coutnry. The nations of Europe which have lived next to each other for centuries and have been fighting each other for the same length of time cannot be con- vinced that sccurity can be obtained by friendly intercourse. They still “believe that their security lies in heayy arma- ments and political alliances of one group against the other. And. what they have learned from experience dur- ing centuries cannot be unlearned in a t | few vears. This _administration has shown s In | and he enumerated the | guarantees Germany would have to give. | - Europe’s Greatest Crisis Twelve Million Unemployed Figure Largely in Social, Economic and Moral Upheaval. ing the most serious crisis— industrially, socially, econom- statement, but nevertheless true. Times have been bad, since the armistice. But to the tendency of the times to decry economic_realities and indulge in pg; definitely better. Next Winter should see the crisis. of the League of Nations and the In- ternational Labor Office, on trade, present depression. Concerning unem- ployment, for example, the statistics cently there were officially registered 9,198,319 idle workers as compared with countries of Europe the total today is well above 12,000,000. the May or April figures, but it is sig- nificant that this year's seasonal fluc- loyment™ is growing. For example, %rl{mn's official figures show 2,697,422 pared with 1,649,016 or 13 per cent on the same date April 1, 1930. Take Germany: The year's suspen- sion of war-debt payments may bolster up the situation psychologically, and improve it materially if extended to a cancellation or reduction of Germany's war penalties, but only & few weeks ago the rlin government was giving re- lief to 3,240,523 workers out of the 4,743,931 officially on the unemployed lists. Germany's army of idle has grown from 3,040,797 a year ago to, 4,743,951 on the corresponding date of this year. Thirty-six per cent of her trade unionists are wholly unemployed.' while 19 per cent more are working only part time. Ttaly's brave front, politically at least, !is shown in another perspective when Rome's reports are scrutinized. A year ago the Fascists admitted 413,438 un- | employed. This year, on the same date, | there were almost double that number —793,031 idle. However, the situation beyond the Alps is actually blacker since the Fascists have a system whereby unemployment figures are kept !at a minimum on the records. | oOver in Central Europe. and Czechoslovakia, for example, the | League's resume reveals even more de- pressing facts. Czechoslovakia, the most highly industrialized of the mnew post-war states, finds her unemploved | more than trebled in the vear, while Poland’s idle show marked gains despite the thousands now being absorbed by the seasonal demand for farm labor. much | ; i . Drawn for The Sunday Star by Devitt Welsh. ‘WHERE WORLD UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES ARE BEING ASSEMBLED; THE HOME OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS. ernment aid—have increased five-fold the past year. At that, however, they have not reached proportions sufficient- ly large to cause the economic dislo- cation found in other countries, al- though the government has taken drastic steps to stem the influx of for- eign labor which France has demanded annually in the past. In the throes of this “depression” llumpe is turning to hitaerto unheard of things to alleviate her economic ills, and the United States, also aflected, is being drawn into the vortex of indus- trial and political co-operauion and disarmament. It took a catastrophic World War to bring about political _co-operation through the League, the Briand Euro- | pean Confederation and uther agencies; now the universal crisis in agriculture. | industry and trade, and a Communist menace to capitalism, are bringing | effective economic co-operation in sight for the first time. To cope with unemployment 24 na- in Poland | tions have just signed and ratified sl | treaty which is expectsd to unify and intensify public works, through exten- rating and carrying on building of roads, bridges, railw power lines, |etc., of value to Europe as a whole | rather than to individual states ex- | clusively. If credits amounting to $578,420.000, asked by 10 Central European coun- France Feeling the Pinch. France, the one bright spot in Eu- rope, excepting Russia, where there is supposedly @ scarcity of labor, 1 be- ginning to feel the pinch. Her unem- | ployed—those officially receiving gov- tries, are extended, employment aggre- s an in- be availabl | from Igium peo] | ternational automobile highway sion of international credits for inaga- | | o | gating 296.{70.0503 work deys yearly will | | Amsterdam to Paris; Austria is sponsor- | turn ! ling a scheme which would make the! Danube navigable for 1,200-ton ships; Rumania wants 20,000,000,000 lei in order to put 200,000 men to work for five years on roads, bridges, railways, etc. ~ Even ‘Turkey has projects for harbor work, hydraulic development and rallroads which, at an expenditure of 140,000,000 Turkish pounds, will give employment to 21,830 workers over & seven-year period. Poland under the treaty seeks 2,480,000,000 zlotys for elec- tric development, housing and roads which would mean a year's work for 1257000 men. ‘The treaty, furthermore, pledges its | signatories o co-ordinate their national | employment agencies, study unemploy- | ment with a viewpoint of radical eco- nomic reorganization founded on a | common utilization, to the highest de. gree, of land, raw material, labor and capital. Even a quarterly allocation of laborers to markets where they are in | demand. is envisaged—in other words, | machinery for the migration of workers | internationally along practical lines. The unemployment and economic crisis which has been driving Enurope | together apperently is mot a passing phenomenon, nor is the counter move- ment to restore normalcy, if not pros- | perity, a flash in the pan. Problem of Stabilization. Statistics are dull, but they serve to paint a word picture. Also official 8- ures, which alone have been made us: ¢ in this article, nearly always are ultra-conservative. ‘Though they show Europe, and the entire world, in a pretty bad way economically, with the not_yet reached, the important BY ALBIN E. JOHNSON. GWA.—EHIOD! today is fac- jcally and morally—in her . That s =a broad they have never been worse than they are now, and, with apologies in advance litical Pallyannaism, they are due to even worse before they begin to get Official reports, collected from govern- mental sources by the economic section ulation, employment, finance, etc. Peveal stark truths of the extent of the show that in England, Germany, France, Italy, Czechoslovakia and Poland re- 5,705,775 on the same date & year ago. Counting the workless in the other It is true that in June there was a slight decrease in unemployment over tuations are not nearly so great as in previous years, so that actually unem- unemployed, or 21,5 per oent of her registered workers, this year as com- SURROUNDS OF CURTIS IN 1932 1l Interpretations Can Be Given Can- didacy for Either Vice Presidency ! or Kansas Senatorship. BY MARK SULLIVAN. Vice President Cur- |3, tis will run again next year for his present office—or go back to run for his old office of Senator from Kansas—is the subject of a flood of newspaper speculation. One approach to the question, rather more ingenious than real, says the answer must be deter- mined by an abstruse psychological con- sideration. It is to the effect that Mr. Ourtis must run again for Vice President— just because-his abdication would be in- terpreted by the Democrats as an_ex- pert judgment on his part that the run- ning (for Vice President and President, as well) on the Republican national ticket is not going to be very good next year.. The Democrats—so this argu- ment runs—would exploit Mr. Curt)s retirement, would say that “Charlie i§ leaving a sinking ship.” Curtis Last to Ran. Incidentally, this argument ignores the fact—of all the human beings in any party whatever, or any organization Charles Curtis is just about the last who would run away in time of ad- versity. Particularly, and peculiarly and outstandingly, Curtis is & man who Sticks by his crowd. It is something fundamental and tribal in his Indian ancestry. If ever the Republican party goes down, or any other group that Charlies Curtis -belongs to, he will be standing with grim Indian pride and stoic deflance till the waves submerge the last thin hair of his head. Curtis’ political enemies and ecritics say much about him—that he is a poli- tiefan of politicians; indeed, the grand- daddy of all_the politicians; that he is a hard-boiled regular party man; that he regards success of the Republictn party as rather more important than utopian ‘uplift inspired from academic sources; that his outlook is.parochial; that he is more interested in post of- fices ;than in foreign relations. But no enenfy of Curtis can justly say, in divers political phrases that mean the same thing, that he ever “took to the tall timber” when the firing got hot, or that he maintains any private cyclone cellar for use, when the political gale blows strong, or that he “hides out in the long grass” when party adversity calls for extra effort 'to be made or defeat to endured. Between Devil and Sea. A precisely contradictory bit of ab- struseness about Mr. Curtis’ course next year says that if he doesn't run for Senator from Kansas it will mean that he doubts whether Kansas is going Re- publican next year. In short, these tical logicians seem bound to catch Charlie one way or the other, either coming or going. They think they have the Vice President be- tween & pe{chohflcfl devil and a deep blue sea. If he runs for Vice President then he thinks the Republicans are going to lose Kansas. If he runs for Senator then he thinks the Republicans are going to lose nationally. In the course of a long political life many -have laid two-way traps for Charlie Curtis, but he has held office almost continuously, and on a rising scale, since 1884, excepting two yehrs, about 1889, and excepting: the fell by the wayside upn e.umle;h::‘te LlhI: le];r\.fl.»l}:‘nl“1 and the ve Curtis has keen: &. hoider office in Washington since 1891, 16| years as a member of the House 20 vears as Senator and now since 1929 | as Vice President. Decidedly. Mr. Cur-| | tis is a man not to be caught by po-| litical snares, nor to be horned by any | political dilemma, nor to fall between {two political stools. Argument Never Considered. The fact is, there is very little in |all - this esoteric ratiocination about | | aangerous psychological interpretations that may be put upon Mr. Curtis being, |or not being, the Republican nominee for Vice President next vear. This sort lof argument is, literally, never men- el be! f the Republican Na. among members of the Repul - 'Nor?:]‘commflm. It is doubtful if it ever enters’ Cul’tl.i'c ’le:.l: that is not his way of going al 8. One thing that does weigh with members of the Republican National Committee is an emotional feeling that Mr. Curtis should have the privilege of doing whichever he would mu’. like |to do. Among the, 50 to speak, “elder statesmen” of the Republican National | Committee there is something like filial | veneration for Mr. Curtis, because of his long activity in the party and the masculine qualities he has of courage, | directness, political wisdom and, most of all, his dependability. There is much | bunk 'in polities and much counterfeit | emotion. - But - there is absolutely no | false gilt about the feeling of affection | that old-time Republicans have for Cur- Itis, or about the confidence Republic- ans of all ages, and Democrats as well, have in his dependability. Thg most suspicious-minded of Mr. Curtis’ Pro- gressive adversaries (and in some of his moods the most bitter-tongued), Senator Norris of Nebraska, once said that “Charlie Curtis’ word is as good as gold.” Age Would Be Handicap. If the h.dm,]ngmberl:t;’ "y-‘e":g l;:- National Commi - m‘:n“fim question—and deciding 1t {in a spirit wholly free from personal considerations—they would give serlous attention to one fixed fact and unes- capable condition. They ‘would begin by saying, as the primary principle, that choice of any Pparty’s vice presi- dential candidate should be determined solely and strictly with regard to the possibility that the Vice President may become . President. That contingency constitutes substantially the sole rea- ce of the vice 1= T S i the deciding principle, they would re- flect upon Mr. Curtis’ age Mz, Curte w2 Bt . Bominated U 2 heia vies President, with ur. oover -as President, he woul ‘more t.flhln ;:“.z the_time of inauguration, March 4, 1933. If, thereafter, Mr. Hoo- ie after serving, say, two ;::nm?:lrd gqnu would step into ghe Presidency | The ent who was oldest on tak- ing ’““"3..; ‘William Henry Harrison, 66 The next oldest was Buchanan, 65. The next, Zachary Taylor, 64. Andrew Jackson and John Adams were 61. All the others were under 60. The uverage of all_the Presidents when they in discussions of the subject | break. tionalistic supremacy the proud and to transform the bureaucratic supremacy of the “Aus- B " officials into & unien of BY COUNT CARLO SFORZA, Former Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs. TALIAN unity and German unity were the two historical certainties of the nineteenth century. The same historical law decreed that there should be again, at the begin- ning of the twentieth century, a Czech nation, and for the first time & Jugo- slav nation. The Sarajevo murder was a useless crime. Even without it—even without the World War—the old Austrian Em- pire was doomed. The Hapsburg monarchy was com- , on the eve of the war, of 10 heterogeneous nationalities — German, Magyar, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Ruthe- I nian, Rumanian, Italian, Serbo-Crotian, | Slovene. For mnflm the Hapsburg Em- perors tried to transform all these nationalities into a solidly centralized German state; they had falled because of the passive resistance of the non- German peoples. Created Artificial Natlonality. ‘They achieved, however, a success which is generally overlooked. I mean the creation of a new artificial nation- ality which—a unique case in history— did not characterize a people, but sim- ply a caste; if ther> was no Austria— Austria in herself being eolely a part of | Germany—there were. Austrians; Aus- trians who, although German-speaking, had nothing German about them. They were the members of an aristocratic and official caste, chosen through centuries by the Hapsburgs from among all the bixe-bloodnd families of Europe, which were glad to give their youngest sons to the empire and get through them new estates and new influences. Their descendants spoke German, but neither psychologically nor intellectually were they German. They were simply Austrians, the only existing Austrians. Those who remember pre-war Europe have seen them in the empire ante- chambers, in the Austro-Hungarian em- bassies, in the Austrian cavalry regi- ments and in the last years in the Austrian Navy. Wanted to End Compromise. ‘They ruled Austria and, with Austria, the Italians and the Czechs of Austria, just as their Magyar cousins ruled the peoples subject to the St. Stephen’s mwn——sel o= rbo-Croats, Rumanians and Sloy 3 Only one Hapsburg had the intention of reconciling with one another, fairness of treatment, all the 10 peop! constituf the empire of his ancestors. It is one of the tragedies of history that this Prancis Ferdinand—should have been killed on the eve of the war by a nationalistic youth of one of the people which, according to the arch- duke’s program, would have been raised to national dignity, or at least to an honorable autonomy, on the accession to_the throne of Francis Joseph's heir. Francis Ferdinand—it was secret, - | —wanted to do away with the ausgleich (compromise) of 1867, through which his uncle -Francis Joseph had estab- lished two privileged peoples in Austria and in Hungary. ‘What Francis Joseph at 80 was in- capable of facing—and even of think- -his heir was determined to accom- ; with one stroke simultaneously to up the nat of Magyar nationald JUGOSLAYV UNITY AHEAD, COUNT SFORZA PREDICTS Bulgaria Will Become Integral Part of United Slav State Leaning Away From Austria, Statesman Prophesies. democracies in which Germans, Hun- garians, Slavs and Rumanians would have become equal partners. Vain play to reshape history with ifs. But one cannot help wondering what Europe would be if Francis Ferdinand's plan had become a reality—no European war; feudal, aristocratic Austria trans- formed into a sort of ‘gigantic federal Switzerland: an example for some fu- ture United States of Europe, or at least for a “Mittel Europe” with no German hegemony. . Indeed. a_remote but of Francis Ferdinand’s plan inevitably eliminated all idea of war and, with war, the hatreds and the menaces of | new wars that war inevitably engenders, For not only was he planning the unifi- cation of the Jugoslavs with the mon- | archy, changing its character from dual- istic to trialistic, but he also considered that perhaps some day even Serbia might become a more or less loose part- ner of his new Austria—no longer a German-Magyar monarchy, but a wider union of free national entities, linked together by a common allegiance to the supreme Hapsburg lord. After all, he must have thought sometimes, Serbia had once been a sort of vassal of Aus-| tria during the reign of Milan Obreno- vich, and at a time when Austria was lacking the power of attraction he was dreaming of her. Jugoslavism as Strategy. Certainly the Iove of independence is, with the Serbians, blood of their blood. But the Archduke was entitled to hope that even the Serbians of Serbia proper might have ended by envying the free- dom and well being of their brothers beyond the borders, granted, of course, that these did feel free and happy. The Archduke's thoughts did go as far as that, I was told by a typically Serbian witness, old Pachich. In Corfu, where we shared, during the war, so many hopes and fears—besides the oc- casionhl diversion of Austrian bombard- ments—the Serbian leader told me more than once, when in some of his rem- iniscent moods, that he had never trembled for the future of his beloved little Serbia as he did when he finally caught the secret thought of Francis Ferdinand. And yet Pachich had a sort of super- human faith in the strength, the tough- ness, the vitality of his Serbian people —by which he meant only his little peasant independent Serbia that had never fallen under Austrian or Hun- garian masters. of Jugoslav patriotism he never under- stood; to him it was a Croat invention— words he often used | o necessity; but I am sure that he always looked with mistrust on the transforma- tion ‘of what he would have called & “Greater Serbla” into the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Early in August, 1914, some influential Jugoslavs, among them noted Spalato lawyer, were already at work in Rome. Their : “The unity of all our brothers who' are not yet free, 2 Croats and Slovenes.” in from Prague, the Czech 'k arrived in Rome in December, 1914; Masaryk’s in- (Continued on Page.), b | essential part | Trumbich, & |pural BY G. H. ARCHAMBAULT. ARIS.—Publication this week of the full text of the French memorandum to the League of Nations on 'armaments, to be presented to next years dis- armament conference at Geneva, in- dicates that France is unwilling to con- sent to further arms cuts without strong guarantees of the status quo in Europe and of her own security. Sensational imaginary pictures of Paris and other French cities being destroyed by air attacks, while some- what minimized by the general staff, continue to be displayed prominently in Paris journals. Some of them even advocate that corner stores keep a sup- piy of gas masks available for the populace at a moment's notice in the | event of a gas attack. Plane Situation Stressed. The importance to France of mnot cutting down her air force in the pres- ent precarious situation in Europe is pointed out in the memorandum, which states that the nation has only 80 airplanes more than it had in 1923 and that these are chiefly in colonial service, while instead of the seven diri- gibles it had in 1923 there are now only At t Prance has 1,210 land and sea military planes, or 30 more than she had six years ago, when the serv- ice was overhauled. How these planes may best be used for defensive pur- poses ‘is expected to be exhaustively described in an important report which is sheeduled to be made public when it is submitted by Marshal Philippe Petain at the reopening cof Parlament in the Autumn. For several months now Marshal Petain has been investigating military | aviation in France, inspecting existing defenses and preparing others. He has also been testing the combative value of the French army air service. Under his direction and in his presence aerial maneuvers have been held in several sections of the country, especially by night. In each case emphasis has been placed on defense rather than on offense, for it is admitted that it is easier to carry out an air attack than to repel one. ’ “Air Danger Qveremphasized.” It is understood that Marshal Petain | will report that the popular concep- tion of the magnitude of aerial attacks is based on erroneous ideas. Aggres- sion from the air would be a very grave menace in time of war. but it must not be imagined that cities will be wiped out in a few minutes, as pic- tured by sensational writers. From the point of view of defense, the two most important factors are rapidity and organization. As the as- sailant will rely in great part on the effects of surprise, it is essential that anti-aircraft units should be stationed in time of peace at the very spot where they will be needed in time of war. Furthermore, observation stations must be numerous and manned by competent staffs, in order that there may no delay in reporting the passage of enemy air squadrons. with indications of their speed, altitude and strength, together with reports on wind and visibility. From the maneuvers hitherto carried out in France, it would appear that the barrage is the most reliable weapon | against invaders from the air. Attempts | to bring down airplanes by direct hits | are discouraged. reliance being placed | | in the moral and material value of pro- | longed barrages in the case of planes heavily laden with explosives. European Ra;lways Face Bus Competition VIENNA, Austria—Omnibuses are | beginning to compete with the rail- ways in Central Europe. The first long- distance route has recently begun operation—a service twice a day be- tween Budapest and Vienna. The road on the Hungarian side is extremely good, while in Austria it is fairly good. | ‘The trip is run in just under six hours. | The railway takes five. The bus fare | will, however, be considerably cheaper | than the third-class railway fare of 20 Austrian schillins (about $3), as against 28 ($4), and the busses are far more comfortable. They contain arm chairs and seat 37 persons, carry hot-air heating and cold-air- ventila- tiol including buffet service and radios. FRENCH NOTE FORETELLS DISARMAMENT MEET DOOM Maintains Air Force Is at Minimum Against German Claims—Discord Au- gurs Il for Geneva Conference. BY FREDERICK OECHSNER. ERLIN.—Germany squarely re- Jjects the French memorandum on armaments, submitted ‘this ‘week to the League of Nations, and insists that the only guar- antee of safety in Europe is equality in armaments, at least in principle. ‘The least restrained German opinion holds that the French memorandum represents. “a policy half way between megalomania and persecution,” and.is & clear sign that France intends to thwart any reduction in armaments whatsoever. 1932 Conference Spiked. This can hardly be taken here or anywhere else to augur well for the success of the Disarmament Confer- ence to open in Geneva next Febru- ary. With France and Germany so completely in disagreement on major | issues. it would seem that the 1932 Conference is spiked far in advance. The amicability demonstrated between German and French statesmen in the last week—a friendliness held here to be of historic importance—may prove to be valuable in meeting the knotty practical problems of guns and powder, but the outlook at present is dublous. ‘The charge is made in some quarters here that publication of the French memorandum ‘was premeditated and was a direct effort to sabotage the London Seven-Power Conference. It is pointed out semi-officially, however, that the memorandum was two weeks old at the time of its publication, which was made necessary by certain indis- creet Tevelations in the press. It is constantly reiterated in the dis- cussions here, of course, that German disarmament under the Versailles treaty was intended only as a begin- ning of a program that the other na- tions were to follow. Germany dosc not demand armaments for herself so much as disarmament for others, but at the same time she sticks to the meager :lc:t{; granted her under the Versailles reaty. ‘Would Discuss Program. Thus, in respect to building another “vest-pocket, battleship” to follow the remarkable cruiser Deutschland, re- cently launched, a spokesman of official opinion told this correspondent that, while Germany is unable to consider relinquishing this second cruiser as a political concession to France in return for financial assistance, the Reich is not averse to discussing the merits of her naval program, as limited as it is, at the coming Geneva Conference. Ger- many would consent to having her naval armaments fitted into almost system that the conference might agree upon, but not under political pressure, 80 _the spokesman stated. ‘The situation as it now stands can- not continue for long. The question of disarmament is the keystone of inter- national politics and if no solution is found, only the higlest tension in in- ternational relationship can result, ac- cording to this authority, Reductions Challenged. France is understood to mean in her memorandum that she does not intend to reduce her armaments, and the claim that she already has largely done so is challenged by German military experts. They assert that only transformation and reorganization have taken place, which cannot be construed as an actual reduction of arms. If Germany in the interests of disarmament is not aliowed to have armored tanks, airplanes, sub- marines, - heavy artillery, etc., then these must likewise be forbidden to other nations, so Germany opines. The National League of German Officers in a pronouncement on the French memorandum declares the time has come for Germany to arm to the limit of her power. In a telegram to Chancellor Bruening while h. was in London this week, the German Navy League, a famous old organization which was behind the pre-war German naval program, but which tocday has a scant following, has hoisted its colors again and emphasized the absolute necessity of carrying through the building of the second cruiser. In all accuracy it must be sald that the disarmament guestion, even in view of the French memorandum, is far overshadowed today by the more press- | ing economic difficulties which face | Germany. The people are far more | concerned with questions of credit than | with those of guns. Which might be considered a healthy sign. | (Copyright, 1931 GENEVA.—“Back to the land” is the keynoteslogan of a report to the Inter- national Labor Office from the Gen- eral Federation of Jewish Labor in Palestine, which shows the_-distribution of Jewish immigrants in industrial em- ploy in that country. Expatriates from Poland form the bulk of the incoming Jewish immigrant. population. have entered the country since the war to the number of 23,830. Considerable numbers of industrial workers in other enterprises have gone over to agricul- tural pursuits during the past five years, After Poland the greatest number came from Russia, followed in order by Rumania, Lithuania, Germany and Lat- via. Those born in Palestine and re- turned thereto head the list of non- European immigrants, and in turn others from the Yemen, Iraq, Turkey, Persia, Other countries were headed by Africa and America (the latter num- bering only 141), with an almost invisi- ble minority from Australia and a mis- cellaneous thousand of unknown origin. In 1930 agriculture accounted for 21.5 per cent; industry and handicrafts, 25.8; transport workers, 6.3; building enterprises and public works, 11.1; of- fices and hotels, 18.7; professions, 8; domestic service, 7.5, and miscellaneous, 1.1. All these classes show an increase except industry and public works. ‘Those I.:h:h have cruised g:n L(:dl:r- ranean 0se ropuhr ips abroad have f Palestine food supply in the famous Jaffa oranges. It is to the culture of citrus fruits that Jewish emi- gration to Palestine owes its greatest impetus. ‘The changes which have taken place recently in Palestinian economy are due largely to this great increase in orange gl.owlnl in the countryside, the area wving grown three fold during the past five years. Those engaged in agricul- occupations are more than twice the number of those in the towns. ‘Wheat, tobacco, olive oil and sesame seed form the bulk of other field crops —the latter an ingredient of lipsticks and cosmetics, which shows at least the development of the modern idea of diversity. Jewish workers in Palestine 72.2 per cent are employed in manual occu- %o h'lgw'nm'u;:em" of the agri: Palestine Jews Turning Most of New Immigrants Are Poles Jewish industrial immigrant workers | to Farms; number having risen from 4,782 in 1919 10 14,798 in 1922 and 26,349 in 1929. When the countryside revival as planned by the American Zionist group is brought to full realization, it is hoped | that what will be known as the Ameri- {can tract will give a livelihood to & | population of 200,000. Felix M. War- | burg is announced as having made & personal contribution of $50,000 on be- half of the project. ‘The geographical distribution of these immigrant workers is as follows. Jewish plantation settlements. Tel-aviv Jerusalem Haifa .... Other towns All districts show an increase except the port of Haifa. Families with one or two children account for 70 per cent. Children un- der 12 years form but 1 per cent., and those from 12 to 18 years 12.5 per cent of the immigrant population. Thoss of 80 years and over, numbering 339, form 1.5 per cent. Fifty per cent of all work- ers, town and country, are unmarried males. U females amount to 72 per cent. (Copyright, 1931 wikinot AN Cotton-Raising Teste Renewed in Hawaii HONOLULU, Hawail.—Experiments in cotton growing are being renewed in Hawaii, as a result of the excellent results several Japanese growers have been getting with the “Caravonica wool” variety. The University of Hawaii extension department is aid- ing the wers to work out cultiva- tion problems, and one firm of mat- tress-makers has already developed mmnb;_eh b\nu:wnzn cotton ’%‘:& tresses. e university experts that there -are thousands of acres of Hawailan land, now almost useless for other crops, on which from 500 to 1,000 Fiew ot the wihapey sxpionces of the of y e nces South with eouopl?, lo!f,n”l growers are 1y, £ 5 ‘be" deveioped 1n ihe ¥