Evening Star Newspaper, March 6, 1932, Page 29

SECURITY OF VLADIVOSTOK CAUSES HARSHER RED TONE Moscow Rushes Troops to Far East Province to Aid Questioning of Japan’s Advance. Note—While efforts were being made last_week, to end the Japanese-Chinese conflict at Shanghai. the Japanese gov- ernment made public o series of dis- Datches from iy comsuls in Siveria yeporiing that Russia was massing (roops in the maritime provinces and along the Korean brought i1to prominence ary atrength of Russic and Japan East. In the followino George Fielding Eliot discu and tactical positions of t certainly the Japanese made a more competent job of disposing of Chinese resistence in Manchuria. Yet their de- feat—it is no less—at Shanghai has been a rude shock to military opinion in other countries, and it is impossible to believe that either their leadership, | their morale or their training can be of | as high an order as they were previous- |1y ;red(kvd with, N s " = | The present strength of e Red Army BY MAJ. GEORGE FIELDING ELIOT. | " the Far East is fairly well known, 1905—the Tra o powers. HE one great co of Ruscian stre Eact is the same U Russo-Japanese THE SUNDAY STAR: BY W. STEPHEN BUSH. | ITY OF THE VATICAN —While | the press of Italy, including | the Osservatore Romano, and the leading Catholic journals studiously, as if by special command, abstain from any comments on the themes discussed by the Pope and Mussolini during the memorable hour in the papal library, there are re- newed and re-emphasized reports of an | impending great step to be undertaken | by the Vatican on behalf of interna- tional peace. These renorts are current, not only in well informed ecclesiastical circles, but are heard also in the ranks cf the Fas- cist hierarchy. The plans with which these reports deal are constantly tak- ing more definite shape. If no intimation of these vast and | sensational projects has heretofore | | found its way into the columns of the | newspapers, it only proves once more T 2| though the Soviet government is not Siberia—especia that portion | Of the continent at Novo-Sibirsk. This of the Far Eastern area is not mu(‘h‘ can be brought to bear in the Pacific | lavish in making public military infor- mation. The whole of Siberia is com- prised in the “Siberian Military Area,” with headquarters far off in the center of it known today as the Far Eastern |Vast area is divided into two “inspec- area—is very sparsely populated and |tion districts” Eastern and Western. cannot of itself supply or support large | The headquarters of the Eastern Dis- military forces. The whole population | trict, for some years at Chita, is said more than 1,800,000, and many of these are Chinese and Coreans. The Teal military strength of Russia—Czarist or Soviet—is in Europe; and this strength provinces exactly in proportion to the capacity of the Trans-Siberian Railway | to transport men and munitions over a 5,000-mile haul ‘now to have been shifted to Khaba- rovsk, the administrative capital of the Par Eeastern region; the commanding general is said to be Gen. Vassili Bluecher-Galen, a competent officer with much Asiatic experience. A writer in the journal of the Royal United Service Institution (London), who has made a study of information obtained from Soviet military periodi- cals, places the strength of their Sibe- rian forces at eight divisions and four cavalry divisions of which six divisions and two caval divisions belong to the Western Disirict (Western and Central Siberia) and two divisions with two cavalry divisions belong to the Far East- ern area. In addition, there appear to be four divisions and two cavalry di- Vvisions in Turkestan, some of which since the completion of the new “Turk- sib” Railway—could be dispatched to a Siberian theater of operations well in advance of troops from Europe. News dispatches, however, have it that there are now 100,000 Russian troops in the Maritime Province alone, and go on to say that “two army corps’ of these, totaling 20,000 men, are in the region between Vladivostok and the adjacent frontiers of Manchuria and | Korea. | v proved. in prac- 20,000 men a month in Manct nd still care for, the enormous supply traffic of an army that grew from 110,000 men in January, 1904, to 310,000 at the battle of Mukden, in March, 1905 despite | losses in battle. The Japanese failure | to make early use of their great local superiority in numbers was due to the | grave under-estimation by their general staff of the capacity of the Trans-Si- berian. It is an error they are not | likely to repeat; but the estimates of | 1904 will have to be considered en-( larged, due to the fact that the Trans- Siberian, a single-track line then, is now double-tracked from the Urals to Karimskaya, near the Manchurian | frontier, where the Amur railway branches off from the old main line. Railways Were Badly Damaged. On the other hand, the railways of Asiatic Russia sustained severe damage during the turbulent years 1917-1922, when Red Guard and White Guard, | Cossack and Czech, and the soldiers of | half a dozen “allied and associated powers” made Siberia their battle- ground. The Trans-Siberian, Amur and Ussuri railways have not yet, accord- ing to reliable advices, fully recovered from these years of war and neglect. After the Russo-Japanese War the Crarist government completely reor- ganized its forces in Eastern Siberia, with a view to providing an army in that reglon which could deal with any possible attack until strong reinforce- ments could arrive from Europe. Ac- cordingly, they established no less than 11 divisions (each of 16 battalions and 32 guns) in the region between Lake Baikal and the Pacific, and they very largely increased the “‘military colonies™ of the Trans-Baikal, Amur and Ussuri Cossacks, which, with the Primorsk Dragoons (Russian military colonists in the Maritime Province) provided 36| squadrons and sotnias in peace and had a reserve sufficient to raise this number to 90 squadrons in war. ‘The divisions, though known as “Si- berian Rifles,” were, in fact, largely composed of picked men from European Russia, volunteers for the most part ‘While thus increasing the Siberian army, the Russian government went ahead with the project of double-track- ing the Trans-Siberian Railway, but the Russo-Japanese War had made a serious alteration in the strategic value of that road as it then eixsted. From Man- churia station to Pogranichnaya the line ran through Chinese territory and was known as the Chinese-Eastern. By | the terms of the treaty of Portsmouth | the Chinese-Eastern was definitely | closed for military purposes, and Japan’s advance into Southern Manchuriz | placed the Chinese-Eastern at her | mercy anyway. | Japanese Could Occupy Harbin. | From Chang-Chun, the northern limit of the Japanese military zone, to Harbin, on the main line of the Chi- nese-Eastern, is only about 125 mllf‘s.‘ and this meant that the Japanese, in case of “strained relations,” could QC-‘ cupy Harbin and cut off Russian com- | munication with Viadivostok and the Pacific provinces before any possible The “two army corps” are probably the two divisions normally stationed in the Far East, which would, if rein- forced by such reservists as might be locally available, amount to about the figure stated. (A Soviet division has only nine battalions of infantry and an artillery regiment). As for the concen- tration of 100,000 troops in the Mari- time Province, “largely from European Russia,” this is doubtful. The troops movement is said to have begun in December, if 30,000 troops with their artillery, supplies and trans- port have been shifted from European Russia to Khabarovsk or beyond in that length of time, it would represent about the uttermost limit of the Amur line's capacity. Say three more divi- sions, at something approaching war establishment, to which must be added the two cavalry divisions above men- tioned, probably one in the Amur re- glon and one in the Maritime Province, they will amount to about 4,000 effec- tives each. Fail in Colonizing Plan. In 1925 the Soviet began a “five-year colonization plan” which was to pro- vide 1,200,000 colonists for the Far East by 1930. This plan has not been realized in full, but it is said that more than 500 new farm communes, inhab- ited in whole or in part by soidiers of the Red Army, who have completed their terms of service, have been estab- lished in the Far Eastern area during the last year. If this is true there wi be a considerable body of rese: available. We may, then, assume with some confidence that the Russian force now available for operations in the region Khabarovsk-Viadivostok does not ex- ceed 50,000 men, plus mounted troops. It may be less, it can hardly be more. Four of the Amur River gunboats still exist, but as the Amur will not be free of ice until April or later, they are not an immediate factor in the proh- lem. The Russians have no naval force at Viadivostok, beyond an old destroyer or two and the “icebreakers"” necessary to keep the harbor open in ‘Winter. As for the fortifications of Vladivos k, these are said to be undergoin much improvement and re-arming Vladivostok, with its semi-circle of hills inclosing the city like a great amphi- theater on the shores of Amur Bay, is s | naturally a very strong military posi- Russian concentration could prevent | tion. them. Consequently, the Russians revived | their old project of an railway and built, between 1815, the “Amur Railway,” which leaves the Trans-Siberian at Karimskaya, runs There remains to be considered the garrison of the western district of Si- all-Russian” | Peria; some 70,000 effectives. The divi- 1907 and | siho]m moved to the Far East have prob- a | son; or if they have, they have doubt- y not been drawn from this garri- |less’ been replaced by European divi- northeast, east and southeast, following the valleys of the Argun and Amur | Rivers, until at last it crosses the Amur on one of the longest and most mag- nificent railway bridges in the world | and connects, at Harbaroosk, with the | Ussuri Railway from Vladivostok. On the Amur River the Russian navy established a strong fiotilla of power- fully armed gunboats. which were not only able to protect the river frontier, but were capable of ascending the Sun- garl River into Manchuria as far as Harbin itself. And the fortifications of Vladivostok were modernized and | extensively increased. ‘When all these measures were com- pleted the Russians could feel reason- ably secure against attack. They had not, indeed, established in the Far East an army superior to that of Japen, but they had so strengthened themselves that the Japanese or any one else would be likely to reflect a long time and count the cost very carefully before re- sorting to war over y dispute that might arise in that region. It may be well to emphasize this point, which is applicatle to military establishments anywhere. Absolute military security cannot be obtained except by maintaining mili- tary forces definitely superior in num- bers, armament and efficiency to those of any potential enemy or combination of enemies; if such absolute security | is a sine qua non there is no logical | excuse for the existence of any military establishments which do not meet this standard. But practical or relative se- curity may be had by maintaining a force so strong, so well trained and equipped, or so strategically disposed that no ‘such potential enemy will be very anxious to attack it This Imperial Ri had done in Eastern Siberia during the decade be. tween the Russo-Japanese War and the ‘World War. ‘The World War upset all these ar- rangements; the PRussian Revolution and the years of chaos that followed saw tides of invasion ebb and flow, while Cossack atamans ruled by the sword and foreign nations squabbled over the provinces of Siberia. But at last the Soviets have reasserted the Russian overlordship of the Amur and Primorsk “governments”; and it is in- teresting to note that their military policy in those regions is much the same as that of the Tsars. “Reds” Unknown Quantity. ‘The Red Army of today is an un- known quantity, as any army must be until it has been tried in the fire of battle. It cannot be judged by smart “march-past” of show battali in the Red Square at Moscow. o petent observers have stated that the provincial divisions are not up to the Moscow standard. However, October, 1929, the necessity arose for a brief military incursion into Manchuria, the operation was smoothly and swiftly carried out and proved completely suc- cessful, in striking contrast to the ex- tremely poor showing which the Japa- mese troops have made at Shanghal, FPerhaps this is not a fair comparison when in | sions. Moreover, this garrison, l‘l(h‘ its principal strength in the trans- | Balkal region, is in touch with the| double track section of the trans-Si berian and can be reinforced from Eu rope at the rate of approximately 50.- 000 men a month, plus, say. 30,000 from Turkestan available within 15 to 20 days. Additional divisions from Europe may, indeed. be already present in trans- Baikalia. Moscow’s Tone More Severe. It may well be that Moscow has de- | cided to establish that relative security in the Far East to which we referred above. The tone of Moscow's utter- ances has certainly increased in firm- ness, not with the impartance of each succeeding incident in Japan's military progress, but with the passage of time —which seems to indicate that Moscow was speaking very softly until the mari- time province was reinforced. Almost complete silence when the | Japanese occupied Tsitsihar, well within the “Russian zone” of North churia; notking more than surly grum- | bles when Harbin was entered. but now that permission is requested to move_Japanese troops along the Chi- nese-Eastern eastward from Harbin, we have sharp inquiries, categorical de- mands for explanations, and the like If the estimates of troop movements given above are correct, it would seem probable that Moscow now considers Vladivostok to be relatively secure. The value of Viadivostok to Japan is not only commercial. The possession of that port, the outlet of the Chinese Eastern Railway, would certainly cement | Japan's grip on Manchuria and make | her the dominant power in Eastern Siberia. But it must also never be for- gotten that in Japan’s imperial strategy the one water area whose complete pos- | session and control is absolutely vital | to her is the Sea of Japan. She already commands all the outlets to that sea and Vladivostok is the cne| port of military importance on its shores which is not in Japanese possessicn. ‘The position of Vladivostok, intrinsi- cally, is a strong one. point of view, however, the city is 00 clcse to the Korean frontier for com- fort—less than 100 miles. And the Japanese have built a railway from Seoul right up into that northeastern corner of Korea, a railway which will soon be linked with Manchuria by an extension of the Kirin line. One of |is not true, especially in critical times. From a strategic | the iron quality of that discipline and censorship that the “Duce” has been able to impost on reportorial ambi- tions. It may still be remembered that, at a time when the final measures for a ernment and the papacy were being drafted, the press, though in possession of all the facts, remained silent until :\llu&;nhnl lifted the “seals cf discre- ion." That the views exchanged between Pope and dictator concerned interna- tional rather than local or Italian af- fairs was made plain by the nature and character of the prayer which the Pope offered at the end of his allocution after the celebration of the mass in tbe pontifical chapel. Pius XI stood on the steps of the “confessione” in the Vati- can Basilica when he delivered the brief address in Italian which he com- plemented by a prayer for the peace of the nations, spoken in Latin. prayer was taken from the Roman liturgy, which is the Catholic equivalent of the English book of common prayer. The Pope himself called attention to the form and substance of this prayer, which he said was taken “from the teacher of all prayer, the liturgy.” The praver in question is used cn many oc- casions, but it is significant that it has in the past frequently served as the opening words of important assemblies and conferences. Similar prayers, be it noted. have often been pronounced at the beginning of general councils of the church. Differences Adjusted. ‘The primary object of the meeting between the Pope and the dictator was to attest most publicly and most solemn- or adjusted their own sharp and ac- centuated differences on a basis of arbitration. It was felt by both of the distinguished personages that, before they could be heard in a plea for uni- versal peace and disarmament, they must set an example by & disarmament of their own. The disarmament between the Vatican and Fascism, involving con- siderable sacrifices on both sides, was to be the prelude and the condition precedent to their appearance, singly or collectively, on the international stage as the proponents and advocates of a ! new basis for tranquilizing a discordant and suspicious world. The qualification was deemed essential by both. While the course of Mussolini may not as yet have been charted in all its details, its general direction has been plainly indicated by the rejection on the part of his press of the French plan proposed at Geneva. The Fascist edi- tors have not been kind to the peace draft unrolled by M. Tardieu, referring to it somewhat caustically as “a pro- posed enlargement of the French For- eign Legion.” On the other hand, the its coming effort to supersede Genev: as the peace headquarters of the civi ized world, is concrete and tangible in all its details, It is asserted. It is fur- ther said the plan is free from the evils of pure negation, that all its essen- tial features are positive and con- structive and that its basis is broad enough for all practical pur According to authentic information, ERLIN.—Paul von Beneckendorft und von Hindenburg has decid- ed to stick. At the age of 84, the grim-| looking soldier-monarchist has to run once more for the presi- of Germany in the desperate saving his country, and, inci- the republic. i with German politics de- moralized, leaderless, _he decided that his country was bigger than his em- or and agreed to accept the presi- Loyal to Oath. In the years immediately following the former soldier-monarchist stuck to the idea that an oath of allegiance was an oath, even if it was made to a lic, and became the rock of sta- those in Germany who stood at home and peace abroad. s became worse, as millions jobs and Fascism gained at election, he backed Chancellor permitted him to keep the Parliament dissolved under Article of the constitution, and call it semble only for the purpose of g drastic economy decrees. with Germany seemingly on the verge of insolvency, with Fascism running riot in every local election, Hindenburg offers himself to a heated political campaign and to seven more years of office, to end when he is 91 Supported by Many. Probably the best tribute to him is that he is supported today by the same forces who feared before that he would violate his republican oath, and the fact that his greatest opponent will be Adolf Hitler. ~ Personally, he will running as a man of no party, sup- ported by many. The fact that Germany's political guidance is usually in the hands of a chancellor may have given some peo- ple the idea that the presidency is largely a social honor, like the presi- dency of France, and, as such, an easy job for an octogenarian to fill. This Tost every Bruening The German President is elected by the whole people, and so enjoys & greater prestige than a chief executive jchosen by a parliamens. He has a | much greater power of appointment than the President of France. And his consent is needed in times of crisis when the government wishes to invoke the famaus article 48 of the constitu- the two Japanese divisions which nor- mally garrison Korea is stationed at points along this rallway. It could be reinforced directly from Japan through the port of Gensan, which is only about 450 miles frcm the Japanese port of | Tsuruga. To the westward the Manchurian frontier is only mbout 50 miles from Vladivostok, though the railway runs through Russian territory in a generally northerly direction for about three times that distance before crcssing the frontier at Pogranichnaya. About mid- | way 1is .the junction city of Nikolsk- Ussuriski, where the Ussuri Rafiway to (Continued on Fourth Page.) tion and govern by decree because | politics and the business situation have | become so hopeless that the existence of the republic is in danger. It is not too much to say that | Hindenburg today is in the fcrefront of the few forces standing between | Germany and civil war. At a time ’\ll'hxe{\ F‘:liscxsm might easily win 1' {F‘n' |dority _in a parliamentary election, | | Adolf Hiler would seem to stand tte | 1 ly that they themselves had forgotten | course the Vatican intends to pursue in | reconciliation between the Italian gov- | POPE | | which can be had here almost for the 1s | asking, the papal plan will be presented | however, that the curia lost interest to the world at an ecumenical council |to be held in this city soon after the | dispersal at Geneva. To show how far the plan of holding the council has ma tured, it may be mentioned that there | has been a discussion as to whether a new council should be convoked after the unfinished business of the old Vatican Council has been disposed of | The old Vatican Council, begun in 1869, had been interrupted and ended by the guns of an invading Italian army that made the historic breach in the city | walls near the Porta Pia. It was finally decided to hold & new council—de novo —as such a course would better em- phasize the world-wide importance of | the event. May Deal With Labor. In all probability the council also will deal with the problems that are con- sidered pressing in the world of -apital and labor. but its primary scope will be to prepare a basis for disarmament and worki peace. Incidentally, as it is put in the Vatican City, the calling of this ecumenical council will be Rome’s explanation of its refusal to attend or to recognize any of the evangelical gatherings for the promotion of peace and order held in various capitals of Continental Europe within the last few years. There is no question whatever that the new ecumenical council by what- ever name it may be designated, is meant to be a distinct challenge to Geneva. It is to be not merely a geo- graphical but a moral and religious challenge. The Roman plan, it is alleged, will lift the whole issue of dis- | armament into a higher ethical sphere, away from purely diplomatic and politi- cal influences. It has likewise been said by the diplomats of the Vatican that the papacy had at first h2en inclined to re- gard Geneva with a {riendly eye “da buon occhio” as one of the writer’s in- formants declared. When later Magr. Maglione, then nuncio at the Swiss capital, asked to be permitted a par- ticipation in the meetings at Geneva, befitting the influence and the authority of the Holy See, there was no en- | couragement in the answer conveyed to | him by the League's general secretary Since then the eye of the Vatican has Vatican to Seek Peace Conference Between Pope and Mussolini a Forerunner to Great Ecumenical Council if Geneva Fails. PIUS XI. been less friendly. This does not mean, ‘ in the proceedings at Geneva. On the | | contrary, there was probably not a court in Europe better informed as to | the work of the League and its branches | and of the world's reaction as to its ac- | tivities than the court of the new pontifical state. | The Vatican regards the shipwreck of both the League of Nations and the Disarmament Conference as inevitable and as only a matter of time, unless | compass and chart are radically altered. A plain and very significant hint was given to the Disarmament Conference | along these lines by one who had en- joyed more than one interview with the | sovereign pontiff—the chancellor of the | German Reich, Dr. Heinrich Bruening, who dwelt on the need of “Christian sentiments” as the proper and, indeed, | the only proper source of inspiration | for the leaders of the conference. It was the first time such language had been heard from the speaker’s tribune in the big hall of assembly and coming | from the leader of an avowedly Roman Catholic party in a Protestant country it caused considerable comment: favor- able and otherwise. Many of the dele- gates believed Dr. Bruening on that oc- casion spoke the mind of the Pope. Vatican Pomp Revived. | It is not difficult to realize that, as a demonstration for world peace, an| ecumenical council in the city of Rome will be impressive. Time alone can tell whether the final results in Rome | will be more substantial than those so | far achieved at Geneva. Even the reception of the “Duce” at the Vatican, though it in no wise dif- fered in the reception of other states- men. in spite cf Fascists' exaggerations | to the contrary. was an imposing affair. Elderly prelates who remember the last years of temporal rule under Pius IX | have, after witnessing the Mussolinian reception. been anxious to tell the younger generation that the pomp and splendor of the old papal court has been fully restored under the new sovereignty of Pius XI. When, on the recent memorable oc- casion, a platoon of the gorgeously uniformed ~ Noble Pontifical Guard stepped out of the upper gate on the Vie delle Pondamenta and marched the few hundred yards to the sacristy of Hindenburg to Run Again Germany’s President Is Popular, Yet He Has Been Difficult to Understand. | the paucity of its numbers. It may play PRESIDENT VON HINDENBURG OF GERMANY, WHO WILL RUN AGAIN, still hunts, that last Summer, when marck had never found salutes neces- he met Aristide Briand, he told the in-| sary. The provision was removed from terpreter, “Ask this old gentleman measure. Yet Hindenburg has whether ‘the trip from Paris tired him | never exceeded the letter of the Ger- 00 much. man constitution. chance of defeating Hindenburg per- | sonally at the polls, When legend piles high about & fig-| ure it is usually difficult to find the man It is difficult to get & Teal pic-| ture of Hindenburg, even from those who know him. It is written that he Hindenburg 1is faithful about his That has been the spirit of his gov- duties, rises at 7, and carefully scruti- ernment. Though he never countenanc- nizes everything put before him to sign. | ed any attacks on the republic, he ac- | When s former chancellor gave him & |cepted an honorary office in the document providing that chancellors| Stahlheim, the German organization should receive salutes of so many guns, which corresponds to the American Hindenburg suggested to him that Bis- ' Legion, but has a more political com- » the Vatican Basilica the crowds lucky enough to be there and catch the signt showed great enthusiasm. ‘When all the Roman Catholic hier- archy of the world is assembled in | Rome—bishops, archbishops, abbots, patriarchs, heads of religious orders, cardinals, etc—their sessions and pro- cessions will attract great attention. They will loom very large indeed both | in the eyes and the ears of mankind. That this ecumenical council formed one of the topics of conversation be- | tween the Fascist chief and the head | of the Roman Catholic Church fs re- garded as certain. Mussolini will do all in his pover to make the ecumeni- cal council the most memorable event | in the long annals of the city and of | the church of Rome. With the utmost freedom of movement and unlimited space at its disposal there will be ample opportunities for any number of ses- sions and for the full display of the elaborate and impressive order of cere- monies provided by the ritual of the church. The committee appointed by the Pope some time ago to report on accomodations in Rome and its vi- cinity for the housing and feeding of delegates, visitors and tourists, has submitted its findings to the effect that there was room for all. This, be it remembered, was done before the conclusion of the Lateran treaty. Now, with every obstacle removed, with the municipal authorities eager to place themselves at the disposal of the com- mittee and its subordinate agents, the biggest crowd ever collected on the banks of the Tiber easily could be taken care of. If of all the different orders of the Roman Catholic hier- archy only the bishops and archbish- ops were to attend, it would mean the presence of 1,118 prelates, not count- ing any of the titular bishops, patri- archs, heads of religlous orders, car- dinals and other dignitaries. It is difficult to estimate even approximately the number of people who might be drawn to Rome, whether officially er out of devotion or curiosity. It is cer- tain, however, that the number would exceed by a large margin any pre- vious record achieved in the history of the eternal city, from the days of Romulus to the Fascist march on Rome. American Power Seen. Numerically, the American delegates will be surpassed by many of the Roman Catholic countries. ~ Any one who has within the past few years at- tended any international gathering in Europe at which Americans were pres- ent whether as mere observers or as active participants, knows that Euro- peans on such occasions still entertain great hopes in a real or fancied Amer- ican ability to find a way. This con- tinues to be true in spite of the vastly exaggerated reports about the trans- atlantic depression. “If Americans will only try,” is the wish and the hope of the man in the street. The unanimous reports of our determined policy of isolation make bad reading for the average European citi- zen. Europe is anxious to have us aid in the solution of her problems, not only by means of loans, but by what they believe our superior “savoir faire.” Even the atmosphere in the Vatican has been favorable to the growth of this notion. Hence, it is by no means unlikely that the American hierarchy of the Roman church might play a big part in the coming council in spite of a greater part than that it enacted at the old Vatican council. where it made its influence felt in a degree altogether out of proportion with its numbers. 1t cannot be sald just how far the Pope and the dictator will travel along the same road. Their objects are not identical, but the failure of the Geneva Conference, which both seem to have discounted some time ago, will help the objects of both. It will. as the Fascists hope. enable Mussolini to wrest the leadership in European politics from the French aiplomats and generals. It will, as the Vatican hopes, transfer the cen- ter of gravity In the realm of impon- derables from the city by the great Swiss lake to the left shore of the yel- low Tiber. | plexion. To Hindenburg it is just a -3 CARIBBEAN NATIONS SEEN cess of Popula BY GASTON NERVAL. ECENT occurrences in connection with Central American politics give encouraging indications of stitutions in that part of the world. They will serve to show skep- tical observers that a change for the better has really taken place in the ways of tropical politics. The events of the past few weeks in El Salvador and Costa Rica bear evi- dence of the fact, repsatedly mentioned in these .columns, thet the Central American peoples are definitely nearing their political maturity. They show that the old-fashioned, treacherous methods of yesterday are no longer successful in domestic politics, and that the movements for purely personal, selfish ambitions can no longer com- 'mand popular support down there. When an internal rebellion broke out last month in El Salvador, with alleged communistic aims, the large majority of the Salvadorean people rallied to the support of the government end helped the authorities energetically to squelch the movement. The financial and facilitated and made possible the early restoration of internal peace. And all this in spite of the fact that the gov- ernment of Vice President Martinez had been in power only a few weeks after the resignation of President Araujo, and had not even been ac- corded recognition by the neighboring countries nor by the United States. Some years ago this circumstance would have been sufficient to jusure the suc- cess of any rebellious attempt and per- haps to plunge the country in anarchy. Support of Organized Government. This time, instead, the so-called com- munistic uprising only served to con- solidate the position of the established government and win for it the open popular support which until then it had only partially enjoyed. Such being the case, the reader will probably be at a loss to understand why the Salvadorean government is still denied recognition by the other Central American govern- ments and by the United States. The explanation is simple. The pres- ent authorities of El Salvador may have all the popular support that their friends clain—which is today very likely, after the communistic fracas— but that does not dismiss the fact that there aje standing treaties, international agreements, which prevent such recog- nition. In any country other than a Central American one the fact that the government has the backing of the people and is able to maintain order and protect international obligations should suffice to win foreign recogni- tion for such government. I have con- sistently condemned here the Wilsonian theory of non-recognition, not long abandoned by Secretary Stimson, which amounted more or less to a passing upon by the United States of the in- ternal problems of the Latin American counties. Condemns Non-Recognition Policy. Denying them the right to revolution, the so-called Wilson policy of non- recognition in effect denied the Latin Americans the right to self-government, which is an inalienable and funda- mental condition of their sovereignty as independent states. In accordance with this sentiment, prevailing through- out the Southern Hemisphere, I have also been emphatic in praising the re- versal of the State Department to the old Jeffersonian principle of tion, as announced last year by Secre- tary Stimson. He declared that “any government whieh is the expression of popular will, even if born of revolution, and which is able to assure internal order and protection to foreign lives and property will be recognized by the United States.” This is the only reasonable policy, least the only one consistent with sovereignty and self-respect of the Latin American nations. But in the case of a Central American state the situation is quite different. ‘There is a special treaty among the Central American republics repudiating violence as a means to atfain power. By this treaty the Central American countries voluntarily bind themselves not to recognize any regime which is not set up by legal methods and—which is even more important in this particu- lar case—not to recognize as the head of such new regime any one connected with the revolt which brought it about or with the cabinet of the President thus overthrown. The Central American Agreement. And there is a tacit unwritten agree- ment between the United States and the Central American nations that the at e the progress of democratic in- | moral aid of the most important classes | body of old comrades who trust him, | former will also follow the policy em- and he has become exceedingly angry |Lodied in that treaty, even if not a | when various German states have tried | for his old comrades to indorse his sup- | port of the republic, and equally hard | | for them to attack him personally. | 1cal position. to suppress its activities. At the same time, it has been hard Attack Weakened Party. Recently, a' Fascist member made such a verbal assault on the floor of the Reichstag. It probably hurt that party more than anything that had previously happened, and it seems impossible, in view of the temper of the German Fascists, that they will not continue such attacks in the heat of the cam- paign, and further weaken their polit- Hindenburg, though he does not possess so many constitutional powers as an American President, has been | more important in the scheme of things than most American Presidents. One job of an American President | he does not accept—he does not go in for mass handshaking. Yet when he meets people he impresses them to the point of bewildering. One German diplomat told the writer of his ad- miration, but showed he could not re- member much about the meeting except that Hindenburg has huge hands. Perhaps it is that about his per- sonality and massiveness which has made Hindenburg so difficult to under- stand. (Copsright, 1932) Britain Makes Profit On Understamped Mail LONDON.—Until Americans In gen- eral acquire the habit of placing 2 5-cent stamp on the letters they send to England, the British post office will continue to roll up & tidy sum of “dough” which ought to be going into the coffers in Washington. ‘When a letter arrives in Britain from the United States with only a 2-cent stamp on it the postman in these parts “nicks” the recipient 3 pence (at par 6 cents), as a sort of fine for the de- livery of the missive. Since the postage was raised from 2 to 5 cents on letters destined from the United States to Great Britain a number of American firms here have had to fork out an appreciable sum as “fines’ because of the failure of secretaries, clerks, stenog- raphers or office boys at the home offices to observe the 5-cent dictum. In numerous instances the under- stamped letter is marked “returned to the sender,” and often in such cases the annoyance is greater than the pay- ment of an excess charge; for such re- turned letters frequently miss an out- going liner capable of doing the trans- party to it. These, as I have said before, are treaty stipulations which leave no doubt as to the way to be followed. Good or bad, they are now in full force and must be observed. From the point of view of the Salvadoreans, the government of in fact, it is so, for the constitution of Gen. Martinez may be perfectly legal— | NEAR ‘POLITICALMATURIT Stability After Outbreaks in El Salvader and Costa Rica Cited as Proving Suc- r Government. | Salvador entitled him, as Vice President of the republic, to assume the reins of government in the absence of the Pres- {ident—but from the point of view of the other Central American ccuntries and from that of the United States Gen. Martinez cannot be recognized as Chief Executive of Salvador hecause he was also a_member of the cabinet of the ousted President. Gen. Martinez's recognition is barfed 7 treaty. Not even the argument that the Salvadoreans never accepted that particular provision of the 1923 treaty and made specific reservations to it.at the time of signing the treaty helps them in the emergency, for even if El Zalvador is not bound by that provi- sion, the other signatories of the treaty are, and so is, tacitly, the United States, | which promised to adjust her Central | American policy to those lines. And it is they who must accord such recogni- tion. Salvadorean Claims Unrecognized. At best the contention of the Salva- doreans that the clause they objected to in 1923 is not valid as far as they are conicerned, entitles the Salvadoreans to recognize any foreign government they please, irrespective of the treaty, but it does not release the other parties of the reaty from the obligations of that clause, which they accepted in good fzith. El Salvador may recognize any foreign government headed by a person berred by the 1923 treaty, but the other | Central American countries cannot en- | Joy that privilege. Nor can the United Stetes, which agreed to observe the | spirit of the treaty. | "And so0, a few days ago, the special | representative sent to Washington by | Gen. Martinez to discuss the possibilities | of recognition left for San Salvador | discouraged, broken-hearted, but prob- | ably convinced that today, more than ever, the State Department is deter- mined to help the Central American | nations to preserve there that era of | more democratic ways, more orderly | changes and greater respect for treaties | which has already givgn signs of exist- ence. While I am speaking of special presi- dential envoys to Washington—just an old Central American custom—it may be | timely to point out that in a few days Secretary Stimson might have before him the test case of his new Latin | American policy. Two confidential rep- | resentatives of a Central American Pres- | ident—though they appear as delegates |of the two contending political parties | —are at present in Washington sound- | ing out State Department officials as to | the possible favor with which certain | political plans of the said Chief Execu- | tive may be looked upon by the Govern- | ment of the United States. Treaty agreements between the two | nations” and the presence of United | States Marines at the present time in that Central American country make | the attitude of the United States Gov- ernment particularly important for the carrying out of those plans. It is prob- ly only after they had been examined and indorsed by the Secretary of State that the plans would have any chance of realization. Danger in Intent of Plans. | Now the danger lies in the nature of | such plans. Apparently for the purpese of effecting electoral reforms which may or may not be indispensable at the time, they seek the meeting of a con- stitutional assembly, the real alms of which appear difficult to ascertain. The prevailing opinion in Central American circles is that the assembly would be asked to change the constitution so as to permit the re-election of the in- cumbent or the extension of his period, which comes to an end next December. ‘That is, the same comedy, the same fault which provoked armed rebellicns in a nmumber of Latin American coun- tries in the last two years against ex- | ecutiven “who wanted to perpetuate | themselves in power. If such plans are allowed to be carried out, what I said | at the beginning of this article about | the progress of democratic institutions | in Central America would certainly not be true. Hence, that I consider this case a test for the new Latin American policy of Secretary Stimson. Precisely because it has such a para- mount importance, I prefer to leave | this matter for a subsequent article. Suffice it here to say that the indigna- tion aroused throughout that country and the other Central American states by such political maneuvering is ane more proof of the growing distaste with which public opinicn in Central America regards today the tortuous methods of old-fashioned politics. I mentioned in the first paragraphs of this article the recent occurrences in Costa Rica as bearing evidence of demo- cratic progress in Central America. Evidently the overwhelming way in which the Costa Rican population con- demned and squelched the armed up- rising of a defeated candidate in last month's presidential elections affords the best proof that political movements for solely personal, selfish, purposes can no longer command popular support in Latin America. But this, too, space limitations compel me to leave for a future article, (Copyright. | 1932)) Drafted by Cze PRAGUE, Czechoslovakia.—These are gue Masaryk is, besides being the living father of the Czechoslovakian state: He, the liberator of Czechoslovakia and its President, says in his autobiog- raphy that his life has been “shct through with paradox.” Indeed, the record is one of the most extraordinary in contemporary annals. He s, for instance, the son of a coach- man, and lives today in the castle of the old Bohemian kings. His father, moreover, was & serf on an_ imperial estate, so that in throwing the Hap: burgs out of Czechoslovakia, Masaryk was also, symbolically, throwing them from the front yard where he grew up s a boy. He was, for Instance, both a lock- blacksmith shop, because in early youth he disliked school. He, who became later one of the eminent philosophers of the nineteenth century, as well as| one of its most formidably learned men. Began Life in Poverty. He lived his youth in the most crush- ing poverty: today he owns what has in Europe. He is almost 82 years old, but he rides horseback every day for exercise. He is a master of book learning in- | calculable—and yet became a really| first-class practical agent-provocateur, a specialist in forged passports, double- bottomed trunks, decoys, codes and es- | plonage. | A great lover of life, he once consid- ered returning to Austria-Hungary dur- | ing the war so that he would be hanged. His martyrization, he thought, would | help the Czech national cause. | Son of a Slovak serf, he married into a dist.1guished American family, adopt- ing his wife's American name as his middle name. | A dreamer and a philosopher, he once discussed with his disciple, Dr. Benes, just how the Czech movement could best gain by his assassination—and atlantic crossing in six days. By the time they are equipped with the ade- quate amount of postage and once more placed in a mail box the only out going ship is a slow one, possibly a vessel unable to do the Atlantic in { fewer than nine days, especially in the Winter months. 4 wrote out the necessary proclamation in advance! Honored While Far Away. He founded the most central of all the Central European states—in Wash- ington, D. C.! It was there:that he issued the Czechoslovakian declaration ' smith's apprentice and a helper in a | Proclamation for Own Assassination choslovak Liberator | of independence, closely modeled on the { some of the things that Thomas Garri- | American one. He was president of this state when | still 4.000 miles from its capital, and | did not arrive to take power till several weeks after independence was achieved. The greatest of living Czechoslo- vaks, the first act in his life to bring him prominence was an investigation which proved a set of documents hal- | lowed &nd revered by the Czech and Slovak people to be forgeries. A Protestant, he gained his first in- ternational distinction by defending a Jew accused wrongfully of an obscure | ritual murder. He was reared a Roman Catholic, but turned Protestant later. Career Began at 65. Perhaps most remarkable of all, the | career which made him worid ramous | began only when he was almost 65 | The first half century of his life was passed in comparative obscurity. He was already at the age when the life work of most men is done, when in 1914, 64 years old, he inaugurated the Czech struggle for independence. A valiant pacifist, he nevertheless created and organized the Czech leglons | been' termed the finest private library | o l8ia Who, by marching across Si- beria to the sea, performea one of Loe most extraordinary feats of the World Wa E spent half of his life in fierce un- popularity—and is now beloved through- out his country almost to canonization. The living fatbaz of a state-—he 4s also its simplest titizen. A pascionate patriot—he is aiso one of the most internati y o o ationally minded of (Copyright, 1932.1 “ Credits and Credit. From the Lowe!l Evening Leader Maybe it will be necessary to put i3 to' the new credit agency t'r questivw of credit for the relief measures raz-n by the Government. ——— o Doomed by Approval. From the Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator. The works of Aristophanes having Rngeie Jurs e ‘D Lot which caused kel be cloeed ™ R o~