Evening Star Newspaper, November 29, 1931, Page 35

Editorial Page Part 2—8 Pages EDITORIAL SECTION he Sunday Star, WASHINGTON, D. NDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 29, 1931. Special Articles TR O VNG - e AN N MANCHURIAN CRISIS SEEN UNFORTUNATE FOR GRANDI Purpose of Italian Visit to America Obscured by Far East’s BY FRANK H. SIMONDS. T was a singularly unkind turn of fate that made the Grandi excur- sion to the United States coincide with the crisis in Manchuria. The constant stream of battle news from Asia has served to completely dis- tract American attention from _the prospectus of European peace which the Italian visit was intended to estab- lish. Mr. Stimson has found it difficult to give the impression of impending European disarmament while reports of ermed collision in Manchuria flowed in Moreover, under the surface the whole Ttalian affair had an element of unreality of which even the visitors themselves plainly were aware. The feason for the visit was plain: A series f recent events have served to render taly isolated and impotent in_Euro- ean affairs. Precisely as the British ere the financial victims of the man diplomatic _operations $pring, the Italians were the political yictims. The pound sterling went off he gold standard and the Italian for- ®ign policy went off the rails for the Bame reason. When the Austro-German tariff un- fon was announced, France took it as a teclaration of war. She smashed the reditanstallt in Vienna, starting the ng series of events which culminated in Geérman bankruptcy. France also rompelled Hungary to dismiss its pro- ;:illln premier and to make terms with 'aris, In a word, in an area where Italy had been building up an_ anti- | French political combination, French | money power suddenly became dom- | dnant. When, as a consequence of the | general financlal - upheaval. - Hungary had to ask Prance for a loan, all Mus- golini’s Central European maneuvers | teme down in a heap. Found Herself Isolated. Again, Italy has tried often to reach some agreement with London, But Labor governments are anti-Fascist and the Tory tend to be, if not pro- French, at least realistic. Grandi went to the London Naval Conference hop- ing to associate himself with Britain &nd the United States against France end Tardieu outplayed him. There was a flicker of hope in Rome when Hoover issued his moratorium and France opposed. But this hope was dashed when France smashed Germany in spite of the American intervention. _The result of these complicated po- litical maneuverings has been that in | recent months Italy has found herself | entirely isolated. ~ Also, economically and financially, Italy is .passing through a very grave crisis, such as 2lways has been accompanied by in- creased dissatisfaction with the con- trolling political regime. The founda tion of the Mussolini power is the na- tional conviction that previous parl! mentary rule had resulted in the enor- mous diminution of Italian prestige in Europe. Fascism settled down to the task of acquiring for Italy a place in Europe equal to the Prench. In Cen- tral Europe she tried to draw Ru- mania away from the Little Entente, she tried to play the German game of treaty revision and at the same time she flirted with Russia. In the mat- ter of disarmament she tried to stand with the British. But, not a little be- cause of the eccnomic depression, all he: political operations have led to complete failure, Teday in Europe money is the single | thing that counts and only Prance has money. Rumania, Hungary and Aus- iria have gone on the French dole. ‘The British situation is such that Lon- don has already given clear proof of its purpose to work with, not against, Paris and, in fact, to stay out of Eu Fope just as far as possible. Confronts French Money. Finally Russia is up against the gen- eral depression. The crisis in the Soviet fortunes is not less acute than in the Italian. Under cover a consid- erable negotiation has been in progress between Paris and Moscow and the Reds are at the moment in no mood for any adventure. Thus, wherever Mussclini turns he finds French money exercising an influence sufficient to paralyze Italian efforts. In this situation America was the only remaining hope. Mussolini pat- ently calculated that it might be pos- sible to exploit to his profit the desire of the Hoover administration for a successful disarmament conference, No one knew better than the Italians at nothing can come out of the Ge- neve Conference. The Fascists are in- telligent enough to perceive like all other Europeans that in the present mood of the French and their allies ! | to acquire all possible prestige by fos- | of the European crisis. |and finally in the British disaster. This Foreign Minister’s War News. likely to be increased than reduced in the next few years in Europe. | Nevertheless, if the Italians could be photographed standing beside powerful America in advocating reduction, a cer- tain measure of prestige would flow to | them and the nightmare of isolation vould be exorcised. Literally, after last Summer’s _events, there was nowhere else for Mussolini to turn. The wel- come which attended Stimson when he | reached Rome was directly consequent upon the perception of the situation | which had followed the Franco-German | clash. No Real Money in Game. Grandi’s visit to Washington, then, which was deliberately played up in Japan’s Millions and Crisis American official quarters as represent- ing a step in the march toward success in the forthcoming disarmament con- | ference, seemed in all European eyes no more than one more in the long | series of endeavors of Fascist diplomacy | to escape isolation. When Grandi had | been photographed with President Hoo- ver on the White House steps, his mis- sion had been accomplished from his own standpoint. When Mr. Stimson de- clared that “the sky was the limit" of political discussions, one of the Italians remarked dryly that it was not the size of the limit but the value of the | | stakes which counted first, and that there was no real money in’ this game. | Rome is under no illusion as to the fact that things are going from bad to worse, both economically and politi- cally, in Germany. The Italians who accompanied Grandi—some of whom had been to Berlin with him, some re- cently in Paris—reported privately that | Germany was sinking and French reso- lution was hardening. All saw the ar- | rival of a new crisis in Europe during the present Winter. But since he is here to give all pos- sible appearance of support to the dis- | armament projects of Mr. Hoover and tering the impression of Italian-Ameri- can intimacy, all of Grandi’s public statements were shot through with opti- mism about disarmament and an infi- rite amount of frank nonsense was put out about the possibility of Franco- Italian agreement in the naval dispute over parity. Privately the Italians con- ceded with charming frankness that they saw no hope of such adjustment. Got What They Wanted. ‘The trouble with all these so-called “contact” episodes lies precisely in the fact that they give the public the im= pression that an enormous amount of | practical work is being done and that concrete sults are being achieved. | That was the trouble with the famous Hoover-MacDonald Rapidan meeting, which was hailed as the promise of a successful five power conference at Lon- do on. On the surface a considerable portion of the American public has been led to believe the visits of Laval and Grandi represent progress toward adjustment; in fact, nothing could be less exact. Laval came here to make sure that Washington would not intervene again between France and Germany, as it did at the time of the moratorium. Grandi came here, as I have said, to be photo- graphed with the President and Mr. Stimson. Both got what they wanted, but neither result represents the slight- est serious contribution to the soMution | ‘What is real in Europe is not the present series of more or less empty negotiations which are proceeding sim- ply formally, but the rapidly develop- ing crisis in Germany. Until it becomes clear what that will lead to no real steps will or can be taken. Meantime European anxiety is being steadily ac- centuated by the realization that the events in Manchuria have disclosed the complete bankruptcy of all post-war devices for avoiding war. Another Crisis Seen. ‘The present situation, after all, is on all fours with that of last Summer. In the midst of the Washington discussion of disarmament the people of the United States, without warning, were brought to face the crisis which cul- minated in the collapse of Germany and of all Central Europe financially, crisis had been perceived in Europe for many months, but officially in Wash- ington it had been ignored or denied. A new and perhaps an even greater crisis is now in the making, and it would be a great misfortune if either the Laval or Grandi visits, both of which are relatively meaningless, should serve to create here an inexact impres- sion of Europe which would permit the American public again to be surprised by a new European crisis at least as disarmament is out of the reckoning, that military and naval forces are more | acute as that of June. (Copyright, 1931.) Japan’s Fast Multiplying Increase In Population Still Source of Worry ‘TOKIO.—The multiplying population of Japan, a source of concern to social statisticians and economists for more than a decade, shows no sign of di- minishing. The margin between births and deaths last year, the government reports, was 914,234. 1In only one other year, 1926, has the increase been so great. a ratio of 14.18 to every 1,000 of population in Japan proper ex- cluding Korea, Formosa and other Ppossessions. Births, the figures show, numbered 2085101, or a daily average of 5713. This total was larger by 8,075 than in 1929, but the ratio of 32.35 per 1000 of population was lower by .65. Dur- ing the last 30 years the ratio has kept above 30 per 1,000 except in 1906, following the Russo-Japanese War. The highest, 36.19, was recorded in 1920. With the exception, of British India, no other nation shows so large a birth rate. Stillbirths Decreasing. Were it not for stillbirths the rate for Japan would be even greater. In 1930 a total of 117,730 bables were born dead, a ratio of 1.83 to 1,000 of population. With advances in medical knowledge, stillbirths in Japan have steadily waned, but they are still more numerous than in any other civilized mation. Better medical practice is also re- sponsible for a longer life span, with the result that deaths have decreased. Last year's large net increase in popu- Jation was made possible by a fall in the death rate, the total being only 3,170,867, or a daily average of 3,208, a decrease of 90,361 from the 1929 total and a decrease of 187 to 18.17 in the ratio per 1,000 population. The statistics bureau of the cabinet, re- sponsible for the figures, points out that not since 1868 has the death rate been so low. The doctors of Japan have not conquered death, however, for the rate is much higher than in many other nations. British India alone is said to have a higher rate, and those in Spain and France are about the same as apan’s. G B:ducuon of the deaths from the 'bll’lhs ves the net increase of 914, L'.’N. i total is higher by 98,436 | |than in 1929 and the ratio per 1,000 | | of population is greater by 122. As| the last national census, taken on Oc- tober 1, 1930, gave Japan proper a population hnr]a“fl.nno. the end of is year should see a total approach- | ing ss::on.om Frn Marriages during the same period numbered 506674, a ratio of 786 to every 1.000 of population. Compari- son with the figures for 1929 reveals an increase in the total, but a decrease | of .04 in the ratlo, which is attributed | to the economic depression. The ratio | has been about 8 per 1,000 during most of the last 30 years, but since the | peak of 9.76 in 1920 it has been grad- | ually declining. | . There were also 51,259 divorces dur- | ing the year, 8 in every 1,000 of popu- lation. Though the total increased by | 37, the ratio declined by .01, continuing a trend started several years ago. (Copyright, 1931.) |Russian Explorations Reveal Iron Deposits MOSCOW.—The Kuzentzstroy explo- ‘mth’ms. carried on by 25 groups of | geologists this Summer, have caused a | fundamental revision in the estimates | of the raw materials resources of Kuz- | netzstroy. Up to now these resources had been estimated at 12,000,000 tons of iron ore. New discoveries in the Teiski, Telbesski, Tashelginski and | Kondomski districts have increased this | figure to 150,000,000 tons. In Kertch, according to Prof. Kantor, Wwho in recent years nas explored the iron ore deposits of Kerich on the Azov Sea, the already known deposits must | be estimated at 3,000,000,000 tons. In | the northern basin another 1,500,000,000 | tons may be expected. | There are only four iron ore deposits |in the world which can compare with those of the Kertch district. Three of lthcm are in America, the fourth in Lorraine. Half of all the iron ore re- sources of the Soviet Union are concen- BY COUNT CARLO SFORZA, Former Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs. HE terrible problem of Japan is| the increase of her population. | According to the most recent | figures published by the imperial | office of statistics, Japan proper | has more than 60,000,000 inhabitants, with a population density of 382.72 in- habitants per square mile—an increase of 20.5 over the corresponding figure for the census of 1920. When considering | the area of the land under cultivation | as a basis, Japan takes first place among densely populated countries. She comes before Belglum and Italy—a dangerous privilege. The difficulty of the situation is in- creased by the fact that agriculture is 1o longer the happy basis of the empire. The agricultural crisis all over Japan is very grave. The fertility of the soil has decreased, and farmers are experiencing | difficulty in procuring tools and the necessary material for working the land. Though no workman in the town lacks his bowl of rice, the great majority of | the peasants must content themselves | with a diet of half rice, half barley. The | main thing is to fill one's self—it is of no avail to think about vitamins. Discontent among the peasants, should it coincide with a labor crisis, might | well happen to bring about a great| revulsion similar to those which the Japanese have experienced in the past and which the founders o(‘ m’;d;lern Japan perhaps were Wrong to signore when they were being supported by a wave of loyalty and patriotism. Several Methods Discussed. In order to deal with the natural increase of population, several methods have been discussed in Ji —birth control, extension of national territory, emigration and, lastly, development of industry. The problem of birth control in Japan is confronted with difficulties a million times graver than in our countries. In Europe, for instance, the opposition originates in a jealous safeguarding of | the national vitality, a gripping love of the race and of the race’s historical heritage, and, finally, in religious objections. BY GASTON NERVAL. HREE recent events have kept Mexico on the front page of American newspapers_ during the last few weeks. In their chronological order they are: 1. The extraordinary monetary meas- | ures adopted by the Mexican govern- ment to overcome critical financial con- ditions in that country; 2. The publication of an unusual book, by an unusually gifted writer— Stuart Chase’s “Mexico”—which has given the American reader an entirely new, romantic and comprehensive vision of the most picturesque nation ondthe other side of the Rio Grande, an 3. The arrival in Washington of a new diplomatic representative from Lh%t" neighboring Latin American re- public. It is with the last one that the Washington reader is most -concerned. The reception of a new foreign chief of mission by the President of the United States is. for the reader inter- ested in international affairs, far more important than the simple protocolar ceremonies at the White House would indicate. Personality Important. And when the new foreign diplomat happens to come from Mexico, the nearest Latin neighbor of the United States—a nation which has repeatedly figured in the history of this country— and happens to be a man of the bril- liant personality and prestige of Dr. Jose Manuel Puig Cassauranc, such public interest is amply justified. In this twentieth century of ours in- ternational relations do not depend en- tirely upon_political plans or secrets of state. ~Personal contacts, the in- fluence of personal acquaintances, have come to play a paramount role in the conduct of nations toward one another. Personalities, not only principles, are today behind the tides and waves of international relations. With the re- sult that diplomacy is day by day becoming less theoretical and ~more humane, more practical. Perhaps it is admitting this: trans- formation—and evidently following the dictates of public opinjon—that the governments of the world have dis- tinctly inaugurated a new trend in diplomatic appointments. Instead of the classical, old-fashioned career dip- lomat, of embroidered uniforms and shining decorations, they are sending men strange to diplomatic tactics, but of solid intellectual or business repu- tation—writers, newspaper men, bank ers, industrial leaders—to represent them in those foreign countries where most problems stand in the way cf friendship and mutual understanding. | . This policy has been true of a num- ber of European and American States since the close of the World War. And particularly so of the present admin- istration of the United States. It s well to remember, in this connection, that, the Mexican' government and the exican people had specia o tunity o appreciate the henefits of this trated in Kertch. 3 | UPPER: A JAPANES < policy, for it was to Mexico that the LOWER: NARA, WHERE CHINESE CROWD HEARS A SOAP-BOX ORATOR. BUDDHISM FIRST FLOWERED IN JAPAN. In Japan more is involved—the in- stinctive objection of an entire people whose chief moral and social ideas are based upon filial piety. To imagine the possibility of birth control in Japan or China is like speaking of a Japan and China which may possibly exist one day, in times to come, but which will no longer be Japan and China as we have known them. No doubt the vision of some extension of territory, practicable only through war, haunts the older nationalistic spirit in Japan. But—and this is the main point which I wish to make perfectly clear in this article—the present clouds of diplomatic complications, if not of war, do not authorize us to believe that Japan is unanimous for war, as she was in 1904 against Russia. Far from it. In Japan we are confronted with a | paradoxical situation. Public opinion at large is unanimous. for a steady de- fense of the old economic privileges gained in Manchuria after so many | sacrifices during the war with Czarist Russia. But at the same time they are for peace and for a friendly develop- ment of their relations with China. ‘The lessons of the futility of wars seem to have been learned by the masses in Japan even better than in Europe. On the other side, the military clique, which again has gained a strong influ- ence in Japan, gives the impression that it is dreaming of easy laurels in by a patriotic interest, and not even by }1\ “patriotic” Lide of public opinion, but | by quite opposite reasons—by their fear | of the general awakening of democratic ideals in Japan. After their victorles over Russia the SENOR JOSE M. PUIG CASSAURANC. typical exponent of this modern diplomacy—this diplomacy of non- diplomats—was sent by President Hoo- ver, the late Ambassador Morrow, New to Diplomatic Service. Senor Jose Manuel Puig Cassauranc, the New Mexican Ambassador to Wash- ington, belcngs to this type of men. He is not a diplomat of career. This is his first post; that is, he is begin- ning from the top. He is beginning where others end after years and years of slow promotions and pericds of enduring waiting. Up to now Senor Puig has been a fic writer, an apostle of education in his country, a rencwned public speaker and an outstanding politician— not in the sense in which this term is interpreted here, but, rather, a poli- ticlan in the sense the Latin Ameri- cans undenux'xd the word: e per- L) sonage of influence and following, in- terested in the political life of the state and the constitution of its gov- ernment. : Twice minister of education, minis- ter of communications, industry and labor in the first Calles cabinet, gover- nor of Mexico City, a member of the Mexican Congress and, for years a fac- tor of importance in the activities of the National Revolutionary ' party, which controls completely the Mexican gov- ernment, Senor Ruig is a man new in the diplomatic service of his country. And yet, tne unanimous approval with which his appointment to Wash- ington was received, shows that the Mexican people in general, not only the Mexican governinent, have confidence in the displomatic ability of this non- diplomat who has been succeesful in all other undertakings of his public life. This confidence of his fellow citt- i | China, pressed as it is not so much | Overpopulation Lies Behind Nation’s Activities in Manchuria—Warlike Acts May Null Discontent Japanese hoped for a wkile to change Manchuria into an essentially Nippon dependency. “Colonizing Manchuria” became a catch word in Japan, and those who did not drag it in at every moment were voted inept or unpatriotic. Even in politics, however; a few years’ experience is worth torrents of rhetoric. | "The colonizing. fashion passed com- | pletely. So it frewuently happens, by the way, with generalization formulas in Japan. They take an almost epi- demic form for a time, and then, after a few years, they suddenly disappear as mysteriously ns they spread. How can one explain, if not by this national trait, the hundreds of thousands of con- versions to Catholicism four centuries ago and the extremely small number of Christians now left? Peasant Has Prevailed. ‘The senselessness of putting up & fight against the slow invasion of the Chinese cultivators is now admitted by everybody in Japan—except the mili- tary clique. After 20 years of official favors and privileges the number of Japanese residing in Manchuria is not more,than 106,000. In the railway zone alone, where Japan is practically a sovereign power, the Chinese today number 856,000, where 20 years ago they totaled about 50,000. Where the nationalistic manifestations of Sun Yat-sen and the diplomatic notes of any Chinese government would have availed nothing, the grim work of the Chinese peasant has prevafled. And proud Japan, in absndoning the attempt to colonize Manchuria, has admitted it. During my last trip to Manchuria it became evident to me that actually the great idea of all the Japanese who think, and who are not blinded by the interests of clans or of the military caste, is to concentrate their technical and economic efforts on the installation of great factories in Mukden and other important Manchurian centers, making them the basis for a more fecund conquest than the barren vic- | tories of previous wars—the conquest of | the Chinese market. I inquired: “Why have you waited so long to consider and study such an | (Continued on Fourth Page.) Mexico’s New Envoy to U. S. Senor Puig, Apostle of Education, Has Won Wide Influence in, Our Neighbor Country | zens—which he enjoys to a privileged | extent, and which makes the more im- portant his missicn before the White House—probably nas its foundation in the accomplishments of Senor Puig in the fleld of puhlic education. It really dates back from the days when, still a young man, he joined the revolutionary movement to overthrow the Diaz dic- tatorship, and frow: the time he became an influential eleraent in politics, both through his nowspaper campaigns and his brilliant oratory in Parliament. But, undoubtedly, what brought his name into national prominence, and even made him known outside the Mexican | borders, were his zealous efforts to ad- vance public education—introducing new methods, reducing illiteracy and improving the intellectual level of the Mexican popuiation. "Is Still a Student. Whoever thinks of Puig Casauranc in Mexico thinks cf the progress of popu- lar education, of the “maestros mi- sioneros” and “misiones culturales” which went to the remotest corners of Mexico to teach the peons and the poorer classes, of the special system of education devised for these, of the in- novations introduced in the elementary, secondary and advanced schools in which the sons ot the better classes are educated. * To be the originator of such a vast system of public education as he intro- duced in Mexico, Senor Puig had to be a “born student,” a man of high in- tellectual ideals and an insatiable de- sire for knowledge. Thus, whoever visits him today in his new ambassa- dorial office should not be surprised to find him engross-d in his studies, sur- rounded by his books and the manu- scripts in which he is daily turning out his writings. He is now an Ambassador, but he has not stopped being a student. And a Writer. When I visi‘ted him a few days ago I found Ambassador Puig setting in black and white his editorial notes for Resumen, the original publication he owns and directs in Mexico City. He has not ceased to be a newspaper man, either. He admits the truth of the old saying, “Once a newspaper man, al- ways a newspaper man.” And takes pride in stressing that his main line of endeavor is in that field. He Teasons to do so. He is at present undertaking an entirely new ex- periment in Mexican journalism by the publication of his periodical Resumen —now an illustrated weekly, but soon to be made a daily. Resumen is dif- ferent from all other publications ap- earing in Mexico. Perhaps in all of atin America. It differs in that it is & perijodical which aims to interpret the news and the trend of national and international affairs. Its purpose is not only to give the news, but to in- terpret it, comment upon it, judge it fr(fin the point of view of its editorial policy. Newspapers today are becoming more and more industrial concerns, devoted almost_exclusively to the dissemination (Continued on Fourth Page.) 4 'POLES TABOO BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. O-CALLED constructive efforts for settlement of the Polish. German controversy are in_the | making. They originate with | Poland. On their outcome may depend the success or failure of the Geneva Disarmament Conference. The rapprochement program attributed to the Poles does not concern the Polish Corridor, recently branded in Washing- ton by French Premier Laval and | Italian Foreign Minister Grandi as the‘ gravest ganger to European peace now | extant. Poland Geclares that the Cor: ridor for her is batable incident. £he would no mure negotiate for its re. turn to Germany than France would acgotiate for the recession of Alsace- Lorzaine. What the Poles are ready to discus: with Germany, tnis writer is authori-| tatively informed, is a Polish-German | non-aggression pact concerning East Prussia—that s:ction of Germany which is cut off from the fatherland by the Corridor and which separates Poland from the Baltic. Poland is prepared, under international guarantees, to re- nounce all designs on East Prussia if Germany will “gemilitarize” that prov- ince so that it can mever be used as a basis for attack on neighboring Poland. M. Laval told Senator Borah that if some solution uf the Polish-German problem can be devised, the founda- tions of European peace will be laid. If a solution remains undiscoverable, M. Laval left it to be inferred that Europe will continue to be a powder barrel and disarmament a dream. The French premies found considerable acquiescence in this view at Washington. Perilous “Apprehensions.” ‘The - Poles say that there are two clearly defined and equally perilous “apprehensions,” vhe existence of which must be acknowledged. = Unless states- men in Poland, Germany and the rest of Europe face these realities, hope of peaceful adjustment of Polish-German problems is remote. 5 One of these apprehensions is Polish; the other German. The Poles, or at least a large, influential and miiltant section of them, contend that while East Prussia, since severance from the Reich, | has famished economically to the point of ruin, it has become an ‘“armed camp,” from which a revengeful Ger- many some day may attack Poland. In substantiation of these Polish fears, at- tention is called to the belligerent ac- tivities of the German “Steel Helmets” organization in East Prussia, and to the recent voting of $250,000,000 bythe Ber- lin government for strengthening of the province's industrial, agricultural and defensive resources. As against these Polish alarms, the Germans point to the unchecked agita- tion in Poland for annexation of East Prussia, with its Baltic Coast, and also for suppression of Danzig as a free state, because of its predominant Ger- manic character and hence its menace to the Poles as the seaport of the Polish Corridor. Danzig's importance as a port, the Germans claim, has been sys- tematically diminished by the Poles in favor of their newly created harbor at Gdynia. Germany is convinced that the Poles intend, whenever they believe | | the moment propitious, to conquer East | | Prussia and make themselves the indis- | putable masters of Northeastern Eu- ! rope from Lithuania to the frontiers of Germany beyond the Corridor. The Germans recall the role at Paris of Ro- main Dmowski, the statesman, who, to- gether with Ignace Paderewski, was Poland's chief spokesman at the peace conference. East Prussia Essential. In & celebrated memorandum sub- mitted while the conference was carv- ing up Europe Dmowski declared: “The Corridor is worthless to Poland unless she obtains East Prussia as wall.” Dr. Stanislas Slawski, another representa- tive Polish authority, in his book on the Polish-German question, observes: “It is sufficient to glance at the map to realize that East Prussia forms a ba rier which keeps Foland from the se: With a view to closing the yawning breach between the ccnflicting Polish | and German apprehensions regarding | East Prussia, Poland now is credited | with advocating the “demilitarization” of that German province as the one 3 CORRIDOR, SEEK PEACE WITH GERMANS Tutual Non-Aggression Aim of Warsaw, but Berlin Favors No Rapprochement Leaving Out Boundary Issue. promising way of keeping the peace in that corner of Europe. The plan would amount to a pact of mutual renunciation. Poland would _pledge Prussia. | herself never to attak East The Germans would agree to conduct no military operations against Poland. In addition to this bilateral, ncn-ag- gression compact, there would be im- portant economic concessions by both countries. An agricultural East Prussia, whose isclation from the rest of Ge: many has been marked by progressive economic distress, would be enabled to market its meat and dairy products n Poland on avantageous terms. An industrial Poland, under a free trade agreement, would supply the coal, ircn |and petroleum which East Prussia needs. Koenigsberg, the once thriving commercial capital of East Prussia, is early 400 miles by rail from Berlin, but less than 260 miles from Warsaw. Some of her old-time prosperity would revive, the Poles claim, under their East Prussian scheme. Various con- siderations. the Poles argue, make it more feasible for East Prussia to trade with nearby Poland than with Western Germany, because of costly transport from the center of the Reich, ei by sea or by rail through the Polish corridor. Would Inform America. Alexander Lednicki, president of the Polish branch of the Pan-European Ccmmittee and a member of the Polish Tribunal of State, has apparently been chosen to acquaint American public opinion with Poland's project for grap- pling with the East Prussian question. M. Lednicki espouses the theory that the Versailles treaty, by neglecting to demilitarize East Prussia, put Poland in a position really worse than France would be in if Germany were to hold Picardy, Artois and the Depart- ment of the Lower Seine, supposing those territories to be inhabited by “armed Prussians.” The reference to “armed Prussians,” in M. Lednicki’s presentation, directly Links the East’ Prussian problem with aisarmament and the Geneva confer- ence. The Poles, who maintain an army of 300,000 men, look across their fron- tier upon a ‘“militarized” East Prussia, and argue that such a “menace” on Poland's flank makes it next to im- {)ouible for the Polish people to con- fider any disarmament. Hence, guthor- ized Polish spokesmen like M. Lednicki are now coming forward with the pro- posal that there be worked out a plan of international guarantees providing 1) for the inviolability of East Prussia and (2) for the complete demilitariza- tion of the province. Coincidentally Poland and Germany would. extend each cther those economic concessions and privileges essential to the prosperity of both. Evidently the Polish proponents of ‘the plan trust that countries. like the United States. craving for progress in the field of disarmament, will see in it a road to practical results, Helpful Understanding. understanding of this kind,” says M. Lednicki, “would remove the test bindrance to the normaliza of Polish-German relations and at the same time strengthen the ecanomic ties already existing—ties which sgould be developed further in the interest of European stabilization, as well as in the interest of both countries.” Germany, it is not venturesome to predict, will have little enthusiasm for any rapprochement with Poland that leaves the Corridor in Polish The recovery of that “slice of the Ger= man body and soul” is the Reich’s irre- ducible minimum in any settlement of the conflict. The Germans are ready to give the Poles access to the sea b granting liberal concessions for Pol harbors within the ports of Hamburg, Bremen, Stettin and other German sea cities. Czechoslovakia, which also has no outlet to the sea of her own, was granted such German harbor rights in the peace treatles and has found them adequate and profitable. Most Germans are persuaded that it is not so much a window on the Baltic that Poland hankers for as she lusts to create the Greater Poland” by placing East Prussia, all of Upper Silesia and the Free State of Danzig, like the Polish Corridor, under Warsaw's flag and dom- ination. (Copyright, 1931.) OTTAWA, Ontario.—The only bless- ing of the unemployment problem in Canada is that it has forced the con- struction of a transcanadian - highway, stretching across the dominion from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Work on the new road has begun. The federal government will pay 50 per cent of the cost and the provincial governments the balance. Senator Gideon Robertson, minister | of labor in the Bennett government, has | agreed with the governments of the various provinces as to the work to be | carried on under the provisions of the | unemployment and farm-relief act so that no Canadian who is able and will- ing to work will starve this Winter. Unemployment registration shows there are about 400,000 Canadians jobless, but Prime - Minister Bennett will be able to meet- the situation, as the Canadian Parliament voted him a “blank check” at the last session to deal with the relief problem. It is estimated that $100,000,000 may be needed. Big Public Works Program. Unemployment relief works to be undertaken by the federal government include construction of public build- ings, wharves, repairs to both, and generally needed works of all descrip- tions. Municipalities in all parts of Canada will carry on local improve- ment works, as 25 per cent of the cost will be paid by the federal government and another 25 per cent by the,provin- cial governments. Approval of the provinces is required. All of the larger Canadian cities are taking advantage of federal and pro- vincial assistance. Montreal is spend- ing about $25.000,000 this year, while Ottawa, the capital of Canada, with a %o ulation 125,000, will proceed wit] improvements costing $3,000,000. All of the governments of the nine provinces are co-operating in an effort to create employment. Last month Premier Taschereau of Quebec and his colleagues awarded $10,088,600 to 1,241 municipalities for unemployment relief works and $1,438,930 for direct relief. | The situation in Eastern Canada is not nearly as bad as in the prairies, where the drought has brought thousands to ractical starvation. Immediate atten- ion is being given to rural municipali- ties in areas that have been without crops. To Employ 40,000 Single Men. It is estimated that in Ontario, Canada’s largest and most wealthy province, more than 40,000 single men will be employed on the construction of the great transcanadian way. Married men without work will be given Highway Across Canada Projected To Provide Work for Unemployed the first call for jobs in cities, but the bachelors will have to go north to work on the new road. They will live in camps operated on a cost basis with- out profit, will receive 30 cents an hour for an eight-hour day, from which will be deducted 80 cents a day for board and 50 cents a month for medical services. Some of the camps have already been opened and have impressed .visi- tors with their comfort and cleanli- ness. There will be no military methods in connection with the camps, but provincial police will be available when required. Provision is being made for regular medical services by doctors resident in Northern Ontario. Special arrangements have been made with the railway companies for cheap transportation, and in the case of men who come from some distance and give satisfactory work for at least three months, arrangements will be made for their return home at the reduced prices. It will be illegal to have liquor the camps. A large amount of work will be done on the new highway from Pembroke to North Bay and th§ wegi- ermn section from Schreiber @ the Manitoba boundary. Helps Skilled Artisans. ‘The various municipal undertakine= of unemployment relief works will taks care of the more skilled artisans in building and other industries, giving married men preference in these op- portunities and thereby helping them to obtain employment adjacent to their family responsibilities as far as possible. With the policy that “No ian who will work shall starve,” Canadians are confident this Winter’s unemploy- ment problem will be overcome. (Copyright, 1931.) Kasakstan Republic Soviet Copper Center MOSCOW, U. 8. S. R—The Kasak- stan republic is the foremost district for the colored metal industry of the Soviet Union. It is estimated that by 1935 the Kazmedstroy factory there will sup- ply 30 par cent of the total copper de- mands of the union. At the end of 1933 the biggest blast furnace of this plant is expected .to produce 50,000 tons of pure copper. The center of the com- bine, will be Kounrade, which has the biggest deposits in the world. The com. bine will be further based on deposits in Cheskazgan, Chelbavski and the dis- 'fir;ct along the Chiderta and Qulianta vers,