Evening Star Newspaper, December 18, 1932, Page 29

[ MISFORTUNE THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, DOGS STEPS OF DISARMAMENT PARLEY Pushed Into Background by War Del_)ts Issue After’ Long Series of Difficult BY FRANK H. SIMONDS. T is a final example of the misfor- tune which has steadily attended the Arms Conference that even the concluding phase should be totally obscured by the controversy over the debt question. At the outset of the con- ference it was the Shanghai campaign which seized the attention of the world. Later on the Lausanne Conference pushed it into the background. Now the war debts have relegated it to the back pages of the newspapers. Last February the Arms Conference met after six years of preparation and there were gathered at Geneva under the shadow of the League the prime ministers, foreign ministers and lead- ing diplomats of Europe. It was the universal statement in all the press of the world at the time that the success or failure of the conference to arrive at concrete and considerable results would be of incalculable significance. Indeed, the familiar word was that the ccnference must succeed because the consequences of failure would be tco serious to_consider. ‘When, however, the conference ad- Journed for the Easter holidays it was clear that there was not the smallest chance that any real progress could be made in the direction of reduction of the eflectives of the armed nations. ‘The French demand that security should precede disarmament and the arming of the League come before the disarming of the member nations closed the door to the larger which had been cherished chiefly America and Britain. As a consequence, when the confer- ence reassembled, after a sensational but_unsuccessful dash of Mr. Stimson S‘n Europe, attention was concentrated hopes in the effort to put restrictions upon tiile means of making war. An effort to sestablish a contrast between defensive and offensive weapons was made and tentative plans were drafted for the abolition of certain types of warfare. But this resulted in calling in the ex- perts and the experts proceeded to technical discussions which opened the prospect of a hundred years of conver- sations. Destroy Hoover Proposal. By Midsummer it was plain that not even an agreement effectively banning certain weapons was pessible and the conference was on the point of perish- ing of pure inanition when Mr. Hoov: intervened with his dramatic and dras- tic reduction proposal. But no sooner had that been presented than it was clear that delegates who could agree on nothing else stood firm against the roject of the American President. gimon for Britain and Boncour for France, in ways characteristic to the diplomacy of their respective countries, proceeded to destroy the Hoover project while praising the’ initiative and pur- pose of the President. There was nothing left then but to get together some form of resolution which gave the impression of progress, held out the hope of later -resumption of discussion and catalogued a series of details in which wholly conditional agreements had been reached. But all semblance of progress was shattered when Germany refused to sign the final Teport because it denied her equality, Italy because the results were in Mu solini's phrase derisory and Russia be- cause all real disarmament was lack- ing. Hungsry, Austria and Bulgaria Tollowed suit. Worst of all, too, hard upon the heels of German action at Geneva, came the announcement from Berlin that G- many would not return to the conf ence until her request for equality was honored. Then came acrimonious cor- respondence between Berlin on the one hand and London and Paris on_the other. Efforts to get Germany back Tan to a new intervention by Mr. Hoover, but his appeal proved futile. Thus efforts to revive the conference waited upon a change in the German attitude But_while the failure of the Arms Conference is now conceded abroad on every hand, in the United States the explanation is still left in the vague. Yet the reasons, clear now, were just as plain a year ago, indeed, have been clear ever since the question of dis- armament was first brought up in an international conference at Washing- ton more than a decade ago. In fact, no progress has been or is now possible toward effective limitation or reduction of the armies or navies of Continental Europe while the political issues remain unsettled. As long as Germany at one time de- mands equality of armament with France and Poland, and at the same time proclaims her purpose to force territorial changes on the Continent which both France and Poland regard as fatal to their own security or unity, these nations will not agree to German equality. But as long as Germany is denied the right to arm to the extent of her neighbors, she, for her part, will Obstacles. not consent to any decisions of an in- ternational arms conference. Put concretely, there are at least a hundred millions of people in Europe for whom the status quo is identical with peace. And there is an equal number for whom treaty revision is the major issue. But the status quo powers are armed and the revision states com- paratively unarmed. Germany is for- bidden by her treaties to maintain mili- tary forces equal to the French. Italy is too poor to build a fleet equal to the French. France and her allies will not there- fore agree that Germany shall be equal on land and Italy on the sea while such equality can be used to carry out pol- icies menacing to herself and to all the status quo nations which are her al- lies. And when in this deadlock Great Britain and the United States appear urging disarmament, they are instantly | confronted by the demand of France |and her allies that they promise in re- turn for French reduction British and American guarantees against all evil consequences of such reduction. At gnce the deadlock becomes triangular. Ger- many and her associates refuse to ne- gotiate until their equality is conceded. | France and her allies decline to yield | while their security is not guaranteed. Britain and America, while urging re- duction, decline to assume any respon- sibility. It was precisely in this fashion that the five-power conference in London broke down. France refused to concede Italian parity unless Britain and the United States agreed to a Mediterranean Locarno. Italy refused to sign any- thing that did not concede parity and America rejected all suggestions of re- sponsibility. And between the adjourn- ment of the Naval Conference in Lon- don and the assembling of the Arms Conference in Geneva no adjustment of the Franco-Italian dispute proved possible. The Americans went to the London conference refusing to believe that the Franco-Italian dispute in advance made impossible any five-power adjustment. In London they long insisted that prog- ress was possible. Even when adjourn- ment came they persisted in the asser- tion that the Franco-Italian affair would shortly be adjusted and Italy and France would subscribe to the three- power agreement. And precisely the same optimism explained the American official attitude toward the Franco- German issue at the present Arms Con- | terence. | Results in Deadlock. Since the collapse of the Wilsonian doctrines, France has never ceased to put security above all else, while the United States has insisted that there Was no connection between disarmament and security and American responsi- bility must not be engaged in Europe. The result has been a deadlock. France has not achieved security and America has seen every disarmament proposal blocked. But what has been odd is the fact that the peoples of both countries | have remained convinced that in the |end they would convert those of the other nation. Washington, too, has been under the | misapprehension that in some fashion the debt issue might be used to influ- ence the armament debates. But France would refuse debt payments without hes- itation when these seemed to her dis- astrous without even considering the pursuit of better money terms by con- cessions in the shape of military reduc- tions. As the Americans refuse to join the questions of disarmament and se- | curity, the French decline to combine those of debts and armaments. Briefly, in any disarmament confer- ence the United States has to choose between taking sides with one of the contesting groups of European nations and seeing the eventual rejection of all of its proposals. For disarmament, which in the United States seems an end in itself, in Europe appears merely as a detail in the struggle between na- tions and the clash between national policies. The story of the Geneva Arms Con- ference is no more than a repetition | of the tale of London and of Washing- ton, s0 far as continental European countries were concerned. Europe talked | politics, America discussed disarma- ment. The former tried to bring Amer- ica into its political projects, the latter tried to convert Europe to its disarma- ment program. But progress was im- possible at all times and in the end the inevitable has occurred. Nor does the recent consent of Ger- many to return to Geneva alter the situation. No compromise has been Teached on the basic issue. All that has been agreed to is that the irrecon- cilable demands of Germany for equality and of Prance for security shall | aPpear on the agenda. Thus Germany Tetwns to Geneva, but the Arms Con- ference remains in the state of deadlock which has endured from the outset. (Copyright, 1932.) World Leaders Decl And “Gone Stale” LONDON.—From one end of Europe to the other the tale is told today of *heads of governments “gone stale” or in danger of “cracking” under the op- pressive load of national and interna- tional problems. The outstanding ex- ceptions appear to be the aged but still virile President Hindenburg and Mus- solini. It is believed, however, that no heads of states or governments are more over- burdened with work than the Presi- dent of the United States and the prime minister of Great Britain. ‘Those who have been in close touch with Premier MacDonald lately say that yhe is a brain-tired man, a_sufferer from what Viscount Cecil says has been described as “prime ministers’ disease,” 'which results in “an instinctive refusal decide anything if decision could by any means be avoided.” This is a mal- ‘ady which affected certain of his prede- |cessors at various_times during the post-war period. Nor much doubt ‘entertained about the overworked con- dition of Stalin, despite repeated re- ports to the contrary from Moscow. Difficult Task. ‘Were it not for the fact that Mac- Donald has in the past shown remark- able powers of recuperation after short intervals of rest there would be readier idisposition to agree with alarmists that ‘his retirement could not long be avoid- , especially as the cares of office may as hard next year as they have been 'this. Even the resilient Lloyd George levinced signs of “cracking” when the turn of the political wheel of fortune gave him an opportunity to adopt the life of a squire on his model farm. In a lecture on “The Machinery of Government” which Viscount Cecil has Just delivered at Oxford, this seasoned ‘officeholder said: “No human being can properly carry out the duties which the prime minister, the foreign secretary and the chancellor of the exchequer are supposed to per- form. After a very few months ex- hausted nature will take its revenge either by a breakdown of health or by a resort to devices of postponement and evasion. It should be one of the duties of a prime minister to spare grftlm&lf to_the utmost of his power.” Besides his other duties a prime min- Bster is expected to make party speeches, attend important political meetings, present at numercus socizl and semi- \cfficial dinners amdl orate on science, %ot ‘and Literature, On most days 1, \ HE when | ared Brain Tired Because of Burdens Parliament is in session MacDonald can find time for outdoor exercise only be- fore breakfast. For hours he must be at the House of Commons, where the stuffiness of the atmosphere induces fatigue. The air enters through vents in the floor and is drawn out through holes in the ceil- ing, assuring a temperature of 63 de- grees, But many members complain that this system of ventilation gives them cold feet and hot heads; and the | cynics are ready with the wise crack | that most of the legislation enacted bears evidence of this physical dis- comfort. The American cabinet minister is not required, as his counterpart here is, to be present daily to answer questions. Even the prime minister must be on the treasury or front government bench for part of question hour nearly every day, for frequently the interrogations are addressed to him as head of the government. And, like every other member of the House of Commons, he has as well to be au fait with the affairs of the constituency he represents. As head of a coalition or national government, MacDonald cannot depute as much of his work to others as he could if he were the head of a single party administration. At this juncture in particular he must foster the idea that it is really a national three-party government. If he shifts much of the load to other shoulders, his former La- bor colleagues will say he is making the paths clear for a graceful retire- ment. (Copyright, 1932.) 0l1d Elephant Cemetery Is Unearthed in Sicily PALERMO, Sicily.—Remains of what a Sicilian geologist, Prof. Fabiani, calls an “elephant cemetery,” probably 30,000 years old, have been unearthed near here. Bones and tusks of about 10 ani- mals of gigantic size were found during excavations for the Passo di Rigano Canal, which forms part of the pro- jected hydraulic defenses of Palermo. Prof. Fabiani has ordered the relics removed to the Ateneo Museum, which already has a rich collection of pre- historic mammals (mmdwu:l ‘glcxiru‘: q\.luhtgemb:r.;upenl od, antedating the appearance of man in the jgland. (Copyrisht, 19333 Nazi vs. Junker in Germany DECEMBER 18, 1932—PART TWO. 3 [LATIN AMERICANS HOPE FOR “NEW TARIFF DEAL” Likewise Expect Policy of Non-Interven- tion Under Roosevelt’s Demo- Possibility of New Nation Arising From Present Crisfs Seen GEN. VON SCHLEICHER, GERMANY’S NEW CHANCELLOR, AND PRESIDENT PAUL VON HINDENBURG. BY COUNT CARLO SFORZA, Former Italian Minister for Forelgn Affairs; Author of “European Dictatorships,” Etc. RINCE BULOW in his memoirs gives vent to the greatest bit- terness against Turpitz, who always prevented the Emperor from listening to counsels of prudence with regard to Germany's po- litical line of action toward England. But he never thought of showing up and condemning the intellectual causes which were the orjgin of so much moral blindness in Germany. Worse still, I have heard him dozens of times attrib- ute most of the mistakes made by his country to the congenital incapacity which he pretended his compatriots had for politics. But the truth is that, as chancellor, he never said anthing against the pro- fessors who had added to the pan- Germanistic sermons of their master, Treitschke, new features just as ri- diculous. ~ This _unreal, professional pedantry reached its climax when— and this was while Bulow was in power —the British Empire was reproached by the German professors as having been created by chance during the course of generations; according to them, an empire worthy of the name should be brought forth as a result of pure reasoning and designing. Contrary to what Leon Trotzky seems inclined to believe—if 1 have grasped what he really means fn bis recent article on “Bonapartism in Germany” —what is taking place in Germany might one day refute the assertions Bulow made to me in Rome. It is true that the German of today resembles one of those volcanoes which tremble and smoke and which, should work be done nearby, would break out into erup- tion again, causing some new upheaval and placing the country in imminent danger. But, on the other hand, this state of things also may result in bringing forth something more alive and more real than the stifling atmosphere created during the reign of William II, when the artificial mixture of silly ro- manticism and cold economic imperial- ism was shown to us in all its stupid hatefulness. ‘The very fact that Nazism has been a rupture of all these hierarchies, and —whether sincere or not—has been an appeal to the people to effect their own | solution, may one day contribute, | through Nazism or a similar move- ment, to making Germany a freer, truer and more living entity. If Germans will not permit themselves to be‘ poisoned by the sickening but dangerous fallacy of race superiority, the present crisis will help to bring forth a new | Germany—and & Germany in no way resembling that foreseen by Hitlerian prophets. It will be a revolution. Already the German masses have ceased to be traditionalists. In the the- ater, in literature, in daily life itself, one notices in the German masses a sort of feverish pleasure each time they find some new conception of things which they can adopt. This spirit manifests itself with a disconcerting sincerity everywhere, from the struggle against | not totally exempt itsel from these sur- the hideousness of the bourgeols art to the most daring sex experiments. Nothing of all this was foreseen in former German movements. Socialism itself had established a comfortable bourgeois position for itself in the life of the empire before, full of respectful reverence, it took the power from the hands of Prince Max of Baden. With her history so audacious in thought and so timid in action, with her dreams and her militarism, with her moments of humility and of sudden ar- rogance, Germany shows us that, in spite of Bismarck's prodigious success, she is not yet a completely united na- tion as is France. ere are 20 or 30 Germanies which clash against each other in a sort of painful childbirth. And it is still impossible to foresee if Germany can crystallize, as did France, or if she will remain a disquieting vol- cano for a long time to come. One may wonder why a great nation ‘which demands a policy of action should kneel down and wait for a miracle to be performed or for the coming of a miracle-monger. But this is but the ransom of a long period of passive obedience, and it is possible that this tradition of obedience is about to be broken. The most pressing and most practical problem which Europe has to face at the present moment is to know through what intermediary stages Germany will | pass. Burgeois economics are morally bankrupt, and an individualist democ- racy. on French patterns, seems to be | hardly conceivable. In his recent article Mr. Trotzky spoke of German Socialism as a great force, at least from an historical point of view. So far as organization is con- cerned, he is certainly right. But, in my opinion, German Socialism possessed everything but one thing—a moral ideal. From its infancy, German social de- mocracy was imbued with the religion of the state. The atmosphere of “vic- tories and conquests” between 1864 and 1871 accentuated in all classes an ir- rational admiration for force and for an enlightened despotism, to which was at- tributed the general prosperity that everybody was beginning to enjoy. And the Labor party, whose rapid progress was due to this same prosperity, could roundings. To the very small numbe: of Democrats who had been taught, by | means of long exiles in London, to know and love liberty, who opposed leaders such as Bebel and Vellmar, men of high moral standing and integrity, but who had never conceived the idea that one should not necessarily thank one's des- | tiny for having been born a German | and for having thus escaped from the moral frivolity to be found among all other European nations. It is true that they felt neither love nor respect for Willam 1II, and even less for “the Junker of the HY’ht bank of the Elbe” but they felt that they | had entirely fulfilled their duty by their work of organizing the masses so as to | majority of Democrats and Socialists increase their well-being and their in- tellectual capacities. Unfortunately the successes thus re- corded—successes in which the untiring methodical spirit, tenacious discipline and the sense of responsibilities made themselves felt to the extreme—accus- tomed the headquarters staff of the Socialist party to suffer no longer from the deprivation of political liberty. Besides, under the cover of the Marx- ist formula—reputed to be more rev- | olutionary than any others—German | social democracy was continuing the | peculiar mentality of old German Iliberalism. Like the liberals of 1848, the Socialists were so imbued with reverence for the technical well-being of the state that encroachment upon the personal rights of citizens was looked upon as a nuisance to be tolerated. Nor did they seem to realize the in- compatibility between the policy of ex- pansion which imperial Germany pur- sued and that of the “European com- munity,” the defense and illustration of which had been an impetus to demo- cratic action since the time of the great revolutionary writers of the eighteenth century. During all the nineteenth century, solidarity was ardently preached by the parties which were struggling through- out Europe for the emancipation of the disinherited masses and of the oppress- | ed nations, and was more than once sanctioned by examples of heroic ro- | manticism. But never, as far as I| know, was this case in Germany. | This mentality was inherited by the in Germany. Never did the persecutors of the Alsatians, the Poles of Poznan and the Danes of Schicswig cause an | indignationt in Germany Social-Demo- cratic circles similar to the indignation | which the English oppression in Ireland stirred Shelley. Marx himself expressed nothing but suspicious sarcasm coneerning the miracle of the Italian Risorgimento. | On the eve of the European War the Social Democratic party was only a | gigantic administrative organization; its body was enormous, but its soul was very small. After the disappearance | of Liebknecht, Vollmar and Bebel the | party at its congresses continued to | vote the revolutionary phrases of the past, but every one knew that they | were only formulae. The idea of the overthrow of the state would have hor- | rified Socialist leaders. I have already described in a pre- vious article how the Socialists, once in wer after the war, were such failures | th in their foreign policy and in their home affairs. The best socialistic | writers in France and England have tried to explain the policy of the Ger- | man Socialists by one word—abnega- | tion. Abnegation of this nature, I re- marked, is very near suicide. With | regard to all this, Mr. Trotzky, in his | recent article, remained astonishingly vague. *He was far more outspoken with re- gard to the Junkers. He defined their return to power as a sort of Bonfpart- ism without a Bonaparte. The first' Bonaparte was an adventurer wxm! military genius; the second Bonaparte an adventurer without any sort of ge- nius. No political prejudice can make one so bold as to compare Hindenburg with adventurers of the past, and this | not only because of the admirable moral character of the old German soldier. If he has made mistakes, as| certainly he has done, his good faith | is above all suspicion. But there is something more than | that. Many shades of opinion, even those of the liberals, in and out of Ger- many, asked tnemselves if the return to power of the Junkers would not have at least one advantage after all—that, as a result of the strength they inherit- ed from their old Prussian method of government, they would know how to rid Germany of Nazism. Only the future, however, will teZ 1f Germany will not have to pay too dear- ly for being delivered from Hitlerism by the Junker. For my part, I thinkj she will. I think that the ultimate re- sult of a given policy is the degree of political ripeness to be obtained by a nation. But the only way for a people to obtain a high grade of political ma- turity is through a long life of freedom, with all its blunders, but also with all its blessings. The truth is, at least I deeply feel so, that if it is the Junker who will de- liver Germany from the evil effects of | Nazism, the Germans will run the risk of seeing an exclusive caste becoming stronger and stronger with the sure ! conviction that it alone knows how to! govern, that it alone has the right to| Rovern. And. as a matter of fact, it | will be impossible to deny that this caste will have added still another service to its remarkable political pedi- gree. Yet there is one servijce which the Junkers are incapable of perform- ing, the only one of any real value— that of allowing a people to learn to govern itself in all liberty. Some day one will ask oneself if, in the long run, the convulsions of Nazism would not have served better to save | Germany, just as the sight of the Student drunken slave in the public place serv- ed to save the young citizens of free Sparta from drunkenness. A final remark. almost a postscript. | Von Papen—hated in Germany by So- cialists. Catholics and Nazis—has dis- appeared. He is succeeded as chancel- lor by Gen. von Schleicher, who h been forced to assume openly the pow- er which he has long wielded behind the scenes. So many and so antithetic are the forces a stake in Germany that it is almost impossible to anticipate the ef- fects of that change on the struggle with the Nazis. But this much we may admit: The Nazis will find Schleicher a much more difficult man to cope with than von Papen. This is not only because Von Schleicher is head of the Reichswehr; there are moral reasons at least as strong. Von Papen was foolish enough to identify himself with the interests of the land- owners and the moarchial castes. Unemployed Women Shun Kitchen Jobs LONDON.—Although the total num- ber of unemployed women in Great Britain today exceeds 380,000—or, when girls who have reached the legal work- ing age are included, 430,000—it has been necessary for the ministry of labor iu the last six months to issue permits for the importation of 628 domestic ser- vants from Germany. The wages paid the German domestics are in keeping with the prevailing scale for native do- mestic talent. Since 1930 efforts have been made, under the auspices of the ministry of labor, to train unemployed women in this country for domestic service and up to date 55,000 women and girls have undergone such schooling in practical training centers. But thousands of un- employed women are kitchen shy, espe- cially those who have made a living in industry, and their point of view has the sympathy of many laborites. Nevertheless, in the last Labor gov- ernment, Margaret Bondfield, then min- ister of labor, espoused the unpopular doctrine that women eligible for domes- tic service should not be entitled to re- ceive unemployment insurance if they deliberately turned down offers of do- mestic employment. In some parts of the country there is still a pronounced shortage of capable cooks and maidservants. (Copyright, 1932.) Dyed Kippered Herring Stir British Consumers LONDON.—The kippered - herring eaters of Great Britain—and their num- ber is legion—have been disillusioned by a body of experts known as the food in- vestigation board, who have ascertained that many of the fish supposed to have been cured by a smoking process have acquired their attractive golden color from the paint brush or the dyeing vat. And what is more disturbing, the ex- perts must conduct further investiga- tion before they are prepared to say whether the “ersatz” creations are like- ly to have a deleterious effect on the consumer. Not since expert suggestions were made a few years ago impugning some varicties of sausages has the breakfast table been under deeper consideration, for kippers, like sausages, know no social distinctions. According to the experts, a haddock ;rflves at the % i as undergone seven hours’ curing the smoke of oak sawdust. But a herring does not become a kipper under 12 hours of the same treatment. By dipping the kipper in dye it is possible to turn out the finished product in from five to six hours of smoking. (Copyright, 1932.) Zuyderzee Is Erased From Maps of Dutch AMSTERDAM.—The Zuyderzee, fa- mous in song and story, is no more. Every year & few more acres are filled in and turned over to agriculture. By mflt the Zuyderzee will have ceased to But, as if to spare it that long agony, the Dutch government has o;‘uedu name from the map. Henceforth the Zuyderzee, or what is left of it, will known as the Ysselmer. (Copyrisht, 1933.) 33 QUESTIONS TO CLARIFY DEBT TANGLE| List Compiled to Help Americans Get Clear Understanding of Confusing Issues Surrounding Problem. BY PAUL SCOTT MOWRER. I ARIS, France, December 17.— The war debt controversy, which is causing increasing bitterness on both sides of the Atlantic, re- veals itself, the more it is ex- amined, as a tangle of misunderstand- ings. The disputants not only disagree about facts and the interpretation of facts, but in numerous instances are not talk- ing about the same things. Many factors besides the war debts themselves are involved. Among these factors have been mentioned almost everything from the Manchurian dis- pute and disarmament to reciprocal tariffs and redistribution of the world’s old. gAll this makes for confusion. Yet that there are going to be new war debt conversations in the not distant future nobody longer doubts. In the outcome of these conversations the public opin- fon of both Europe and the United States is likely to play a considerable art. P2l is to assist American opinion to find its way through the mazes of the discussion that the following list of questions has been drawn up. At pres-\ ent these flxexflons are answered af- firmatively by some and negatively by others. Only when there is some sort of general agreement, at least as to facts, is a satisfactory and final ar- rangement thought to be likely. Financial or Political Issue. Is it probable in an international dispute of this kind that one side is absolutely right and the other abso- lutely wrong? Assuming that one side is absolutely right and the other wrong, should the war debts be dealt with as a moral issue or as a financial and political issue? Was the World War fought in com- mon for the common cause? Were the war debt credits used wholly or only partly for war purposes, in- cluding the {e and clothing of civilian populal during or just after the war? Did repudiation of the treaty of Ver- sailles ‘by the United States decrease id the allies borrow gold in United States, or merely goods? Does capacity to pay mean in gpld or merely goods? In the war debt funding agreements, did the United States reduce capital orI:w Ely d?bt funding ts e war debt fun agreemen did the United States reduce capital or merely interest charges? Did the Dawes and Young p! or the Hoover moratorium tend to b- lish any relationship between the war debts and reparations? DRAWNUP bring about a reduction of reparations for the common good? Were France and Great Britain ever given official or unofficial intimation that if they reduced and settled repara- tions, the United States would makei a new war debt settlement? | Are the American_holders of foreign bonds jeopardized by the depression more or less numerous than the payers of the Federal income tax? Is there any relationship between private foreign loans and war debts? Can both probably be collected in full if the United States stands firm? Was one aim of the Hoover mora- torium to safeguard American private loans in Germany at the expense of French reparations? Were Great Britain and France ever told officially or unofficially that if they made a final and reasonable repa- rations settlement the United States would make a new war debt settlement? Is the Lausanne agreement, giving Germany a three-year moratorium and a 90 per cent redgction, a new fact Secarding the Frenth and Britih e = pacity to pay the United States? Was the Lausanne agreement advan- tageous to the world in general, and hence also to the United States? Are the French taxpayers now bear- ing the reparations burden themselves? Link With Far East Issue. After the Lausanne conference, were Great Britain and France officially or unofficially warned not to raise the war debt issue until after the American elections lest the issue get injected into ;he campaign and complicate the prob- lem? Is the war debt controversy ad- versely affecting the Far ern and ament negotiations, hence tend- ing to delay the restoration of confi- dence and prolonging the depression? ‘Would a new debt settlement help to end the depression? Would a new settlement, if it helped to end the depression, lessen or increase the burden on the American taxpayers? Is the United States trying to keep its debtors divided with an intention to discriminate against some while.fa- voring the others? ailcally for argsinng pirposes. in maf or purposes connection with the disarmament, Far é".!bu'l?l or tariff policies of the United If so0, can such bargaining be best condl;cud by the President or by Con- gress’ Is there any way foreign debtors can negotiate with Congress instead of with the President’s representatives? Can better diplomatic bargains be made before or after some or all the debtors default, assuming the danger }fiu.“z‘_‘mg or all will ultimately de- Can payments be made in any way other than gold or goods? 'ugymenu tend further 's currency and finan- ture and hence delay eco- | structure, it will be recognized as one Technocracy Discussed As Economic Panacea (Continued From First Page) theories of Plato. * * * Most of our present economists are still flounder- ing around with theories that have be- come mere folklore in the last decade.” * * ¢ “‘Technocracy’ has written ‘mene mene teckel upharsim’ across the face of the price system. The en- tire social structure must be changed. ¢ ¢ * ‘Technocracy’ has brought our present system to its doom. * * * The impact of ‘technocracy’ on our price system has proved the futility in the future of stocks, bonds, savings, equi- ties, mortgages and all other conmitants { our past system.” * “Tech- | nocracy” “is an integration of physics, chemistry, geology, geophysics, thermo- dynamics, zoology, biophysics, biology and physiology, in so far as _these pertain ~ to social problems. * * * Obviously, when the full force of this pronouncement is felt on the social of the most revolutionary concepts as regards all Frevkms beliefs, thinking and methodology, that man has had to cope with. As usual, man will have to adjust himself to it; he cannot refute it for long.” That'’s a pretty comprehensive revo- lution. The predictors of it are quite | paper, declares that the Roosevelt vic- | tory spells the end of the extreme pro- | responsible men. The Outlook, which carries the authoritative announcement of it, is a quite responsible magazine, edited by a perfectly responsible states- man, Mr. “Al” Smith. Nevertheless and notwithstanding, the writer of this article expects to continue to see the United States run y_a President and Congress in the same old way. (Copyright, 1932.) _ England Fears Flood Menace in Muskrats LONDON.—The problem of the muskrat is now a source of as much concern to Great Britain as to many other European countries. Although some investigators trace the Continen- tal menace to five rats placed on an estate near Prague in 1905, the menace here is attributed to those imported five years ago. At any rate the Old World population of this species now runs into astronom- ical figures. In Shropshire alone it cratic Regime. BY GASTON NERVAL. understand the interest with which this country’s domestic political trends are followed in Latin America, two things must be borne in mind: First—That economic and_financial relations between the United States and Latin America have been increasing at a tremendous pace in the last two dec- ades, particularly since the World War caused the scepter of world finances to cross the Atlantic Second—That geographical proximity and the existence of such vast and va- ried economic links have necessarily re- sulted in a series of international acts and attitudes of the United States di- rectly affecting internal affairs in some of the Latin American republics. Such acts have created a Latin American pol- icy of the United States peculiar to her- self, which has suffered various trans- formations in the course of the past three decades. Two-Fold Significance. ‘The significance of internal political developments in the United States is, therefore, two-fold for Latin Americans. It is both economic and political. Bear- | ing upon their material interests as well as upon their ideals of government, it assumes the proportions of a national | problem for those of thé Latin republics which are nearest to the United States. And for the rest of them, even if out- side the zone of influence of this coun- try, it persists none the less, because economic interests recognize no physi- cal limits and because the political prin- ciples involved are interpreted by the Southern nations as affecting them joinily, as a group, not as individual countries. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that the latest presidential election in the United States should have aroused such widespread interest south of the Rio Grande. It is even less 50 in a period iike this, when the world- wide economic depression has empha- sized the value of international eco- nomic relationships. In a previous article I had occasion to refer to the intense interest with which the recent presidential cam- paign in the United States had been | followed throughout Latin America, and its outcome commented upon and ana- Iyzed by the Latin American press. Al- though at that time I confined myself to reporting the Latin American re- action as to what may be called the | ethical significance of the election—the | Roosevelt’s big-stick policy. orderly, democratic Way in which the citizens of this country expressed their disapproval of the party in power as compared with the violent, militaristic methods preferred by the Latins—I also mentioned, in passing, the reasons which nfig: this election particularly im- plttant to them in the economic and in the political field. If, from the point of view of the of political science, Latin Americans had a lot to learn from the lesson in democratic maturity which the United States election afforded, they also had a lot to expect, considering its result, from the viewpoint of the observer of prevailing economic and pclitical conditions. Tariff and Intervention. Such expectations, to be brief, may b2 embodied in four words: lower tariffs and non-intervention. Editorial com- ments from some of the leading JLatin American newspapers corroborate the impression that the resentment caused by Republican high tariffs and by the irterventionistic acts of previous Re- publican administrations—not includ- ing the present—was the chief reason for the enthusiasm with which Latin Americans greeted the recent Demo- cratic victory at the polls. La Nacion, of Buenos Aires, the famous Argentine paper which is an institution in Latin American journal- ism, hails the election of Gov. Roose- velt as promising “a more intel- ligent understanding between North and Scuth America, and the inauguration of a less selfish international policy.” It stresses emphatically that in view of the promises in the Democratic plat- form, all Latin Americans expect now a downward revision of the United States tariff. La Razon, another important Bue- nos Alres newspaper, says: “Roosevelt's election justifies the hope of a closer relationship with the rest of the world, a more liberal tariff, new life, and a little more of that old American jovial- ity. We hope that the United States and Argentina will be able at last to understand each other, thereby becom- ing nag the two extremes of the Western Hemisphere the strong columns on which may rest a new continental pol- icy of order, harmony and trade—a policy which will take into considera- tion the happiness of all, not only the interests of one.” Still another Argentine paper, El Diario, comments: “The Republican party unbalanced the national economy of the United States with its suicidal teriff policy, then committed the error of declaring for a prolongation and strengthening of that policy. The peo- ple rose en masse and elected Roose- velt, who is convinced of the error of protectionism and imbued with broader ideas regarding international and finan- cial policy.” A Noite, leading Brazilian news- tectionism which is “partly responsible for the world’s economic crisis and which forced other countries to retali- ate” It adds: “The Roosevelt pro- posal for the reduction of tariffs means a practical formula to solve a vital prob- | lem, assuring international co-operation |and, indirectly, will afford livelihcod to | unemployed millions.” Sees End of Tariff War. ‘The Jornal do Brazil also expresses confidence that “tariff modifications will |be made to facilitate commercial | treaties, thus _stopping the world's tariff war which has resulted from the present administration's exaggerated Pprotectionism.” i El Mercurio of Santiago, El Co- mercia of Lima, EI Telegrafo of Guayaquil, El Diario of La Paz, El Tiempo of Bogota, El Dia of Mon- tevideo, and other leading Latin Ameri- can journals express similar opinions as to impending changes in the cus- toms tariffs of the United States. They {all recall the sharp protests of Latin | American statesmen and writers whe. the Hawley-Smoot rates were passed | by Congress; and the prediction of | great damage to the normal flow of inter-American trade which they point- | ed out at the time. They stress, then, the pledge of “recip- rocal tariff arrangements” contained in the Democratic platform and the promises of an early revision of the tariffl made by the Democratic candi- date during his electoral campaign, and hope that the “new deal” in matters economic, will be extended to the South- leru: neighbors of Uncle Sam. Politically speaking, the Latin Ameri- | cans may not have had so much rea- |son to welcome a change in the gove |ernment of the United States, because |it was under the present administra- tion that the new Latin American pol- icy of the State Department—showing greater respect for the sovereignty of | the Southern republics—came into ex- istence. x Hoover-Stimson Attitude. However, as I have repeatedly said in | these columns, the Hoover-Stimson at- titude toward Latin America had not received sufficient publicity. It was scarcely known by public opinion on the other side of the Rio Grande. At any rate, it was not known well enough to |offset the memory of the Latin Ameri- can record of previous Republican ad- ministrations, which had treated the small republics of the Caribbean zone | rather roughly. | The name of the Republican party | was still associated in the mind of the average Latin American with Theodore > with Sec- |retary Knox’s dollar diplomacy, with | Calvin Coolidge's theory of unlimited | protection, with the seizure of the | Panama Canal, with the forcible col- | lection of debts, with armed interven- |tions. In a word, with all the errors |and ~ misunderstandings which have given rise to the legend of Yankee im- perialism. Four years of the Hoover-Stimson policy of non-intervention had hardly Jbtgun to correct the resentment left over by other administrations. Besides, |the Republican platform itself had | neglected to emphasize the changes inaugurated in the Latin American pol- icy of the United States under Secre- tary Stimson. The Democratic platform, on the other hand, explicitly condemned “in- terference in the affairs of other | tions” and advocated “co-operation wil | the nations of the Western Hemisphere to maintain the spirit of the Monroe Doctrine.” This latter declaration impressed the | Latin Americans most, for it amounted to a recognition of the Latin view of the Monroe rine: a continental, common policy of self-defense instead of a unilateral, aggressive weapon in the hands of the strongest member. For the first time the Latin Americans were | promised that they would be allowed to | co-operate in the maintenance of what | was once considered the eXclusive privie | lege of Uncle Sam. Stressing these promises, and the bit- ter criticism of the Republican “im- perfalistic tactics,” uttered four years ago by the previous Democratic candi- date, Alfred E. Smith—which are still remembered in the Southcrn continent —Latin American editorialists are re- | joicing at the Democratic victory of November 8. Mexico Refrains. Only Mexican newspapers, which can- | not forget the difficulties that arose be- | tween the United States and Mexico | under President Wilson, refrain from | enthusiasm. Excelsjor, the most im- portant Mexican daily, states: “At other times not so far back a Democratic President interfered in Mexican internal affairs, constituting | himself an arbiter for a nation that (never had sought his counsel, much | less the employment of armed forces to | solve Mexico's internal troubles. The experience to which we allude, equally |as unfortunate as unjust, should be & guide to Mr. Roosevelt in his relations with Latin ~American countries, and especially Mexico, by reason of her near- ness to the United States.” The truth, it seems to me, is that the foreign policy of he United States is not changed by individuals, nor even by | political parties. It is rather influenced ;by changes public opinion and by the force of circumstances. This, which is not true of the majority of the Latin republics, accounts for the fact that in so far as their Latin American policies are concerned, Woodrow Wilson had more in common with Theodore Roose- | velt and Calvin Coolidge than Herbert | Hoover. (Copyright. 1932.) 125,000,000 Gallons of English Rum In Bond With Hopes for U. S. Market LONDON.—In the belief that Uncle Sam is bound to get off the water wagon at no late date, the manufacturers of hard liquor in Great Britain and Ire- | land are dreaming of the time when millions of gallons of surplus whisky now maturing in bond are converted into real money. It is estimated that the amount in ‘bonds exceeds 125.000.000 proof gallons, or enough to meet home needs and for- elgn demand for 15 or 20 years at the present rate of consumption. This whisky glut is responsible for the clos- ing down of the curtailed production of 78 Scottish distilleries. Owing to the high taxation on whisky in Great Britain it is no longer is estimated that there are more than a hundred thousand. It is in this country that the rats have done ex- tensive damage to 70 miles of river bank. even a popular beverage with the gen- eral run of Scots. The bottle which cost 75 or 80 cents before the war can be purchased now only for the equiva- lent of $3.24. Of that amount, $2.10 goes to the state in excise duty. It is the plea of the trade that such heavy pen | taxation is crushing & 100 per cent Brit- dustry. occasioned by the honeycombing of jcanal and river banks. (Copyright, 1932.) o Rail Order in Prospect. CHICAGO, December 17 (#).—The Cally News said it had learned the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad would place an order for $1,000,000 worth of ralls next week. The order ? 5 it in goods hurt Ameri- will be for 27,000 tons, divided among the Illinois Steel, the Inland Steel and The distiller today is, of course, not the only individual who regards August, 1914, as the end of the golden age, al- though for him it was really 18 karat in the early years of the present cen- For in those salubrious times his countrymen were consuming 31,000,000 proof gallons of the stuff annually, as compared with less than 10,000,000 nowadays, and the American and other foreign thirsts accounted for many mil- lions more. The national war effort, prohibition in the United States, hi partial collapse a potentially mnrkeunchinnmlomaonhehc":’rg which militated against boom business even before economic depression dried of the trade are sppreciation for whisky has | not been injured by any political or eco- | nomic developments during the last | quarter century. Even if the United States becomes a beer and wine country it is considered certain that there wiil ‘be & considerable element of whisky consumers. | It is the contention of some of the | experts hereabouts that whisky “got |in bad” in America because so much | of the cheaper domestic brands were put on the counter when immature, and | then consumed “straight,” or without dilution or a chaser. The law in this country requires that spirits be kept in | bond for three years before sale for | consumption. | . Thousands of working men in Eng- |land and Scotland who cannot afford | nowadays to pay 14 cents for a “shot” | of whisky, have either drifted to beer jor to cheap wines which have been fortified with spirit when in bond. Be- fore the war the Scottish worker could obtain a hefty drink of whisky for 6 cents and a beer chaser for 2 cents. (Copyright, 1932.) Frying Pan’s Glories Inspire MacDonald Pen LONDON (#).—Prime Minister Mac- Donald has stolen time from his heavier tasks to write a lyric passage om the glorles of the frying pan. “How well I know it,” he writes for Rucksack, the hikers’ magazine. “It is not work, for one can get down to it and, with sleeves up and elbows out, control the operation with a fork. “Compare the more dilatory methods victuals simmer and cook themselves, and give me a sizzling fry- mnn, with its savory smells encour- my. efforts.” &