Evening Star Newspaper, May 7, 1933, Page 21

Editorial Page Part 2—10 Pages FRENCH POLITICIANS WARY OF CO-OPERATION WITHU. S. Many Feel American Congress Cannot Be Trusted to Carry Out Promises President May Make. BY PAUL SCOTT MOWRER. ARIS.—The return of former French Premier Edouard Her- riot from his dramatic visit with President Roosevelt in Washing- ton raises questions of extraord- inary interest both to France and to the of the world. s Herriot's trip, from the French viewpoint, & success, as his friends in- sist, or & failure, as his adversaries ‘would like to believe? Should Prance adopt the new policies which Herriot, in his talks with Presi- dent Roos *. seems to have agreed to propose in Peris? In particular,.should France, without other compensation, now pay its Decem- ber war debt installment to the United States? And. above all, what effect is the dis- cussion of all of these grave matters likely to have on the French political situation? Will the government of French Pre- mier Edouard Daladier fall? ‘Will a period of political uncertainty ensue which may tend to delay both the disarmament and ‘the economic negotiations? Will Herriot emerge victorious as the next premier of France? Coolness Between Leaders. It is with such questions that these inner political circles here are fairly buzzing today. The fact that Foreign Minister Joseph Paul-Boncour and Min- ister of the Interior Camille Chautemps both went to meet Herriot at Havre on his return has aroused much comment. It 1s an open secret that there has been coolness between Herriot and Daladier, both of whom are members of the same party, since the latter accept- ed the premiership on the basis of not paying the United States. Some veteran tacticlans even suggest that Daladier declined to go to Washington and sent Herriot instead because he was con- vinced that nothing good for France «could come of the Washington talks. “If so, what a mistake Daladier made!” these politicians now exclaim. What Herriot apparently is telling Daladier and President Lebrun can be stated roughly thus: “I found in President Roosevelt a highly intelligent, friendly, profoundly human and cordial man, in whom the long-suffering American people have suddenly concentraledh fl"lteh‘ highest hopes and greatest authority. ‘P}else is the first American President in years who has shown the slightest understanding-of France’s problems or ideals. He wants to work with us as well as with the British to re-establish the economic and political peace of the world and put an end to the people's | woes. He understands the need for the | world’s three great democracies to stand together in these troubled times. “For France, the opportunity is unique. I am convinced that we can and should work with this man. I have come back more convinced than ever that friendship with the world’s strongest democracy is today France's best hope. Covered Lot of Ground. “Naturally our time was limited and we could not do everything. Much re- mains to be acccmplished. Yet we covered a good deal of ground l‘nd the results are already appreciable.” S;:ecmc%efly, what Herriot proposes scems to be: 1. France should pay the United States immediately the December 15 war debt installment and simply trust President Rcosevelt to work out some satisfactory arrangement respecting the e next installment, due in June. It was not for nothing, he intimates, that an agreement was reached in Washington to fix the date of the World ic Conference for June 12; that is to say, three days before the next war debt payment was due. 2. France should give sympathetic and constructive study to President Roosevelt's proposals for the simultane- stabilization and gtrfinl reduction of lers. 3. France should make a big effort to meet the United States at least half- way on disarmament. France must realize, according to Herriot, that Presi- dent Roosevelt, German rearmament, in embargo against an aggresso: 5 this. President Roosevelt has made a big effort to meet the Prench viewpoint. Herriot's arguments will certainly carry welght, yet the arguments are not yet decided. It must be recognized that there are still many objections cur- rent here to any attempt to co-operate with the United States on these or any terms. Feel Congress Can’t Be Trusted. Many Prench politiclans seem con- vinced that, whatever the American President may promise, the American Congress can not be trusted and the President, in the long run, is helpless. Such people feel that co-operation with Great Britain and Italy within some lance falsely placed in vague American lormulas. Still others are strongly opposed to disarmament on any terms under the present European gonditions. There is widespread sentiment against again de- valorizing the French franc. The Prench o not forget that the franc has _already been cut to one-fifth of its former value. There is a tendency to feel that tariff and quota reductions, as long as the dollar and the pound are unstabilized, are impossible. Moreover, the greatest uncertainty is felt in financial circles here regarding the financial future of the United States. One banker, analyzing the American inflation bill, considers that the real danger is not in the immense powers conferred on President Roose- velt, but in the illusion of the American people that mere monetary artifices can sz:x‘ehnw overcome the world depres- 8] . This illusion, he thinks, will force the Government to try various experiment w:‘ch are bound to fail, but which, while, will encourage speculation instead of steady, solid reconstruction and hence really delay recovery. Finally, there are still widespread objections to making the December war debt payment. Henri Berenger, French negotiator of the American war debt _agreement, speaking Thursday in the Senate, said the agreement speci- fied that France intended to take ac- count of reparations receipts. Gesture Declared Misunderstood. “The declaration,” he said, “which I made on this subject was received with out protest by the seven American members of the War Debt Funding Commission, wha, iu.-establishing French scale of payments, took due ac- count of the reparations expected France from Germany.” At Lausanne, during the Reparations Conference, he explained, France con- sented to a 90 per cent reduction in the reparations, but “our magnificent and chivalrcus gesture has not yet been understood at Washington.” Has Herriot's trip, he asked, changed all this? No, and “even if there has been or is about to be an agreement with President Roosevelt, we are not sure that Congress will ratify it. Let us not repeat with President Roosevelt our exm%ca with President Wil- lent Hoover. “Are we going to receive a 90 per cent cut in the war debts, such as we gave in the German reparations? 1Is there even going to be a suspension of the June ents?” From of this it seems clear that Herriot’s fight for Franco-American co-operation is not going to be instantly or easily victorious. ous devalorization of the gold content of the world's principal currencies, rapid (Copyright, 1933.) Emigres, Fleeing From Germany, Look for Protection in America VIENNA, Austria—What is going to happen to the thousands of German in- tellectuals who, escaping the Nazi ter- or, have fled abroad and are trying to set up new lives in Vienna, Prague, Zurich and other refugee centers? These emigres, potentially constitut- ing the cream of German science, phil- osophy and art, have created & new and serious international problem. How are they to support themselves? What countries will give them permanent pro- tection? How are they to live? 1t is strenuously hoped by the emi- gres themselves, and by disinterested liberals everywhere, that the United States Government may see some way to relax its immigration regulation, so that emergency visas may be issued in case of urgent need. 1848 Exodus Recalled. The emigres are similar to those who made the great exodus from Germany in 1848. Then a great part went to America, where some, like Carl Schurz, became distinguished citizens whose lives were of compelling value to their new country. Richard Wagner was a German emigre. So was Franz Liszt. Today there are hundreds of minor )Vlvncmrs. Schurzes, Liszts seeking new omes. Emigres despite themselves, thou- sands of loyal Germans have had to Chinese, Seeking flee the Reich because of insupportable conditions. Most of them have com- Mostly they are not German culture, and someé of them, of impeccable_international reputation in their field?, are in exile today, men without & country. Their life-work at ]};ome is shattered; they must begin new ives. ! Three Classes of Emigres. ‘The emigres, hundreds of whom have found temporary _ref in Vienna alone, can be subdivided into three 1. The Communists. These, presum- ably, will eventually be taken care of International Jewish organizations are already mobilizing for their rescue, and Palestine is an even- tual bility as a new home. 3. The rs—mostly teachers, ar- tists, lawyers, doctors, scientists, who are neither Jewish nor Communist, just plain liberals, like most Americans.” It is for these that the crisis is most t. - (Copyright. 1933.) Way to Uliity, Turn to Builder of Great Wall SHANGHAI—With two decades of chaos and civil wars behind her, the China of today is beginning to take interest again in the career of the man ho first united the nation and gave To %t & social and political solidarity that lasted till modern times. His name was Shih Hulnh v‘ln-;l. Hu;géedx 2,1:: years ago, after ha rel for g'nm a8 Zounder of the Chin dynasty. Built Great Wall. Scholarly study is now being voted to the career of Emperor Bhih, whose principal achievements unting China were the building of the Great ‘Wall, the beginning of China’s canal system and highways, and the organiza- tion of the first national army and navy. For centuries, the present century, ed in and till quite recently in | 1 peror plishments. In an_hour lene od EDITORIAL SECTION he Sunday Star, g WASH INGTON, D. C, SUNDAY ' MORNING, MAY 7, 1933. Economic Conference Vital Some of the Probleins That Face Nations of the World During Present Critical Period. “WE MUST RESTORE THE HOPE OF EMPLOYMENT TO THE WOIKLESLBI!’LLIONS WHO LOOK TO BY WILLIAM HARD. NDUBITABLY the crucial event of the year 1933 will be the interna- tional monetary and economic con- ference. It is scheduled—tenta- tively—as these words are written— to begin its successes or failures on June 12 in London. Failures would mean, it is commonly and truthfully said, a vast increased | outbreak of economic nationalism and of economic chaotic warfare in the world. Successes” would mean, equally commonly and truthfully said, & return to a moderate measure—at any n'fi—?f;‘ lnu{ynulonu economic ce an nquility. pe;m the alternatives can be stated the {even more strongly. - On 4he one. along with even a partial of bY | international economic peace tran- ty, there would go a renewed free- of economic life not only interna- tionally, but also within the inclosures of national boundaries. On the other hand, along with an accentuation of economic nationalism and of econcmic warfare between countries, there would develop today—within each nation—a vigorous, and even violent, species of nationalistic state socialism. ‘The choice is between a certain re- vived degree of economic liberty and a certain emphasized rush toward eco- nomic governmentalism. This thesis, I think, will be abundantly verified as the preliminaries to the international monetary and economic conference— and the conference itself—expand their multitudinous activities. The origins of the conference must be sought in the conversations which took place in Washington in 1931 be- tween Herbert Hoover, President of the United States, and Pierre Laval, presi- dent of the Couricil of Ministers of France. Mr. Hoover and Mr. Laval discussed the then existing moratorium on intergovernmental debts. They dis- cussed possible extensions of the mora- torium, or possible sequels to it. It was agreed between them that the primary pivot of the problem was situated in Europe. It was thereupon agreed be- tween them that the initiative toward the next move in the problem should be taken in . Whatever else may be only a surmise regarding the outcome of the conversations between Mr. Hoover and Mr. Laval in 1931, this agreed transfer of immediate initiative from the United States to Europe is an undisputable documentary fact. Europe, it must be admitted, did not | fail to perform its assumed duty in the circumstances. The momentous con- ference at Lausanne was summoned. | It was held. It met in a midnight of | disheartenment. It closed in a dawn of hope. Intergovernmental debts owed by Germany under the name of “repara- tions” were virtually extinguished. Conditional Acceptance. It is true that the ex-allies condi- tioned their acceptance of the Lausanne agreement upon a readjustment of their intergovernmental debts to the United States. It is also true, however, that this conditionalism was and is merely diplomatic and, indeed, merely aca- demic. No Hitler government and no post-Hitler government of Germany will ever resume the pre-Lausanne burden of reparations payments. Lausanne was the end of unpayable intergovern- mental debt payments within the con- fines of Europe. It was an end de- sired by the United States and consid- erably accelerated by the United States. It is only in the light of this fact that the forthcoming international monetary and economic conference can be understood. It is only in the light of it that the meaning of the recent visits of James Ramsay MacDonald = of Edouard Herriot to Washington be grasped. The Lausanne agreement, on the side of the ex-Allles, was essent the work of Mr. ald and of ° Mr. 1| Herriol. Mr. MacDonald terms him- ded | self in politics & Socialist. Mr. Herriot unity | terms himself a Radical Socialist. te | 8Te men of “The Left” comparable to the sadly ces of today. China Divided. many torn pendent now rule under what is called tem of “regional mili BC. civil wars were decimating the population, the land and its people were harassed and impoverished, inroads by foreign invaders were frequent. Much tge ufl statement might be made with . W38 [] - . Both ‘That label, whatever it may connote in' domestic affairs, seems almost always to connote | in international affairs a policy of con- ciliation and accommodation. At Lausanne Mr. MacDonald and Mr. Herriot arrived at with Germany; but, since they are not only men of “The Left,” but also men of large international experience, they went farther. They threw the remain- ing fragment of the problem of inter- governmental debts—the fragment con- cerning the United States—into the galdron of the world’s economic prob- gen: It is not important that Mr. Mac- Donald and Mr. Herriot diplomatically and conditioned their ac- portant that at Lausanne they sounded the first call for the international and ic _confe it is| to the United States the following un- uttered observations: “It is almost useless to ask you to reconsider the question of the debts from the point of view of the welfare of the United States Treasury. It is almost useless, indeed, to ask you to reconsider the question of the debts from any point of view at all. So now we ask you, at London, to reconsider the general universal economic welfare of the whole world, including yourselves. Let that be your thought. We are con- vinced that then the of the debts will occur to you, at London, as an after thought.” The Ghost at the Banquet. Such was the drift of action and of intention that has given us the coming parliament of world economics at London. The of the debts is not upon its formal agenda. It is not on any slip of paper on its table. It chair—a ghost which the compulsive shufflings of the slips of paper will in- fallibly materialize. Let us thereupon allow that wraith to stand gazing at the slips of paper while we examine the quite cryptic scrawls is present only as a ghost behind nchl EARN —Drawn with which the slips of paper are adorned. They are in two packs. One is marked “financial questions.” The other is marked “economic questions.” These markings, if analyzed in relationship to mankind's bread-and-butter life as actually lived, are, I think, wholly arbitrary. They will surely become | intimately intermixed in the conference’s indeed, they already are in the conference's preliminaries. Our Secretary of State, Mr. Cordell Hull, centers himself upon the “eco- nomic questions.” His heart & set upon & free flow of physical com- maodities from country to country. With all the depth of his extremely deep be- Ing he is convinced that economic inter- commodities—between coun- tries not only blaze the trail but pave the highway toward the solution of all “financial questions,” such as “monetary policy” and “credit policy” and “exchange difficulties” and “move- | ments of capital.” | _ Those are the sub-items entered un- | der the heading “financial questions | in the international monetary and eco- nomic conference program. To Mr. Hull they are all of them subsidiary to Attitude of Public BY MARK SULLIVAN. HAT is said here is offered as outline, a very rough blue- print of the decidedly un- usual conditions now exist- ing at Washington. In spite of contradictions, apparent and actual, the conditions and events do fall into a pattern of a kind. If there were space, the discussion should take up two flelds; first the changes, not as yet in the form of government, nor in our social system, but certainly in our Government prac- tice. These changes de not need to be permanent; noth: that has been done commits us finally. Everything so far is aimed at getting over an emergency, is based on the plea of emergency. Perhaps those who .fear permanent departure would feel easier it the extnocdlnu? ‘measures enacted by Congress, the farm relief bill, for example, had a time limit. In the roposed railroad measure there is a proposal is for one year, with the President hav- ing the power to renew it for another. These measures, however, are justified by analogy to war, and our war statutes in 1917 did not assume that the con- war-time con up in Wi that the ending of depression may be 50 definite. It may not have so con- crete a conclusion as the declaration of armistice; and these new assertions of Government control over the indi- &l;llw may hang over into normal es. Stll Individualistic. I think it is not likely, however, and reason. The true in- an_accommodation | his g8 RESTORATION OF FAITH TO BE ROOSEVELT’S TEST After First Hurried Buying Seen as President’s Real Opportunity. torate in 1936, or perhaps as early as 1934. All that, however, is for the future. For the moment the country is inter- ested in the business aspects of what is going on in Washington. And be cause the steps taken have already the plain effect of stimulating business, the country does not question them. Congress knows that well. In the mass of voters, those who feel anxiety are negligible. The country as a whole approves Mr. Roosevelt and is ready to accept what he does without much car- ing to understand it. Higher prices, “better business,” is the test, and higher prices are here. Whether “better busi- ness” is here—that is, whether the kind ectually “better business” in the long- term sense—remains to be seen. I do not say that to cast doubt. That some do have doubt about the phase that may follow this is a contemporary fact which must be recorded. But it has no weight politically. The country likes what is happening. To the few, the tally tic or the eco- nomically apprehensive, it may be the opening orgy of what some of the ortho- dox regard as an inflationary dance of death. But to the and also to fiict would end on any ite. | some, ‘Wilson not | of prosperity, in the sense that the pression is over and that we are in a It is a fair record of pres- ent thought among the most expert in economics and m:lu most practical in that literally none doubts we larged busin tivi cd By Drofits, eniarged. employment. and the other accompaniments of what call prosperity. = Doubters Lotk Ahead. ‘The doubters who exist—and they are d | fmportant if not numerous—focus their Q 3 f g i %g E g g E § 5 g ; ] sr3vd ] e g | three certain sub-items entered in the of business activity now taking place is | THEIR LIVING IN FACTORY AND for The Sunday Star by J. Scott Williams. conference program under the heading “economic questions.” | Those three sub-items are “prohi- bitions and restrictions of importation | and exportation,” “quotas and other | barriers to trade” and “tariff policy.” | Mr. Hull's attitude was in principle adopted, even before Mr. Hull became Secretary of State, by the “preparatory commission” which labored at Geneva, | | Switzerland, under the aegis of the | League of Nations, to annotate and illuminate the international monetary and economic conference agenda. e United States was represented in the “preparatory c " by mund E. Day, director of social sclence | of the Rockfeller Foundation of New York Qity, and by Dr. John H. Wil- liams, professor of economics at Har- vard versity in Cambridge, Mass. Dr. Day and Dr. Williams joined the other members of the “preparatory com- mission” in signing what Mr. Hull might regard as the most important sentence in th: commission’s report. It is this: |, “It is impossible to maintain an in- | ternational monetary system except on | the basis of an international economic system.” Similarly Mr. James Ramsay Mac- ald, immediately upon his recent arrival in this country, and while still on the deck of the Berengaria in New York Harbor, said: “We must strive to clear the obstacles which block the highways of trade be- |tween the nations and so restore the hope of employment to the workless millions who look to earn their living |in factory and field.” Thus Mr. MacDonald and Mr. Hull might seem on this point to be in basic agreement. The international monetary and ecconomic conference shall bend | its energies first to removing prohlbi-‘ tions and trade quotas and to reducing tariff duties! It shall only then ad- dress itself to “financial questions,” of gold, of currency, of prices. The Views of France. | | _ Whereupon, however, there enter the | views of Mr. Edouard Herriot and the interests of Prance. Those views and those interests might ‘be expounded in the phrases following: “We French have built for ourselves 3 quite lovely and lofty chateau with a | deep moat about it in the form of tarift | duties, the waters of which fall and | rise at our quick command. We addi- tionally have environed ourselves with | explosive mines in the form of sudden import-quotas which we set off from time to time with lively destructive effects upon the imports from given countries. C'est dommage! Mais, c'est la_guerre! Observe the “Are we. to be blamed? British pound. And now observe the American dollar. What is the value in our francs of a physical object manu- factured at the cost-level of the pound? What now is the value in our francs| of a physical object manufactured at the cost-level of the dollar? When we see a British commodity or an Ameri- can commodity approaching us, how can we know, now, what its value may turn out to be in terms of that stabil- 1zed gold yardstick, the franc of France? “No.’ A fluctuating pound and dol- lar must mean the ility of a fluc- :\:I-dur:,g‘r PT“ench de‘{end.l: of t.ltrelg duties quotas. ia! ind and dollar must mean pln:lu’e e!ep;.llted and more energetic French resistance to the entrance of cheapened British e contrary is is that stabilizaf currencies must precede en! tation of . international movements.” Thus the Prench: and thus now, in some Telenting degree, the British and the Americans also, An Unprecedented Moment. ‘We come thereupon to a wholly un- recedented moment in the world’s his- GOLD CLAUSE ABROGATION SCORED BY ENGLISHMAN U. S. Seen in Role of Creating Chaos to Force Early Action by World Economic Parley. Note—The following article is pre- sented only as a reflection of the British viewpoint in regard to recent !l measures of the United tes Government. BY HARTLEY WITHERS, Pormer Editor London Economist. Former Pinancial Editor London Times. ONDON.—To us in the Old World only one explanation seems pos- sible for the action of the Amer- ican authorities in refusing to pay British holders of American securities in gold when this form of pay- ment is stipulated by the debt contract. ‘This explanation is that President Roosevelt and his advisers are deter- mined to produce such a state of eco- nomic ¢haos that the forthcoming world conference in London will be obliged in cheer’ desperation to do something forci- | bly and quickly to obtain more improve- | ment. It was a pretty severe shock to all friends of the United States on this side of the Atlantic when that country, more than $4,000,000,000 in gold, went off the gold standard and Pput an embargo on export gold. Many of us, however, believed that this would make no difference in the fulfillment of debt contraets in so far as they provided for the payment of interest on them in gold coin of the United States or some equivalent. Didn’t Expect to Suffer. It was not, of course, that we ex- pected or wanted to receive payment actually in gold, but it was expected that in these cazes interest payments would be offered in paper doliars to an amount which would be equivalent to gold coin. In other words, the depreciation in dollars which has followed America’s abandonment of the gold standard was not assumed to imply that the holders of securities protected by a gold clause against this very depreciation would nevertheless have to suffer. Among the many expressions of sur- prise and indignation heard in London since America’s determination to ignore the gold clause in debt contracts has been made known the most effective have been those quoted from American sources. Lately there have come to London large numbers of copies of a statement made before the Finance Committee of the United States Senate by Winthrop W. Aldrich, head of the Chase National Bank, New York. This statement dis- cussed causes of the depression and possible remedies, and has been gen- erally recognized in Europe as one of the most acute and most lucid examina- tions of the world’s distress and possible ‘ways out. Bound by Every Promise. In the statement Mr. Aldrich said a good deal about the possible conse. quences should the American Govern- ment deliberately debase the dollar by its gold content. He said: “The shock to confidence at home and abroad of a deliberate breach of faith by the United States Government with | respect to the gold standard would be something we could not get over in years. Our Government has given its solemn promise on every Liberty bond to pay in gold. The same promise is printed virtually on all our privately issued bonds, State and municipal bonds, and a multitude of mortgages. We are bound by every promise.” In his opinion, excuse could be made for embarrassed countries like England in going off the gold standard when they could not help it. But no excuse could be made for America if she did it deliberately. Perhaps an Englishman may be al lowed to remind American readers that before England went off gold she had borrowed 130.000,000 pounds abroad to try to save herself from this humilia. tion; also, that her action was force upon her not by internal financial diffi- culties, but by the demands of her for- eign creditors: further, and as was stated by Charles Rist, Prench econ- omist, the pound sterling fell like a good soldier fighting for the currencies of Central Europe. All Englishmen recognize that despite a certain amount of advantage brought about by the fall of the pound the pres- tige of London and its money market has been irreparably damaged by this event, and that it has had the effect of greatly increasing the difficulties of in- ternational trade, putting another seri- ous obstacle in the path of world re- covery. Makes Commerce Impossible. America’s abandonment of gold and subsequent refusal to recognize the rights of creditors under the gold clause in contracts are certain to have a much more devastating effect owing to ihe | very different conditions under which ‘thm 4hings have happened. To refer to Mr. Aldrich once more, | he says the result of devaluing the dol- lar, from the standpoint of volume of credit and the revival of gold prices throughout the gorld in the future, would be “demordlizing in the extreme.” i As every one knows, credit and con- | idence are absolutely essential to the | conduct of business anywhere. even in | the most primitive communities. The American people have always taken & firm stand on the sanction of con- tracts. This indistence of theirs has | been absolutcly right from a purely | business viewpoint and without any question of moral standards. If business agreements are to be va- riable at the pleasure of either party when events make it inconvenient to carry them out, industry and commerce along modern lines become simply im- possible and the world is doomed to a general lowering of its standard of life | and perhaps even to widespread famine. For this reason American insistence on the sanctity of war debts, which has been so criticized in Continental Eu- | Tope, has always seemed to me abso- | lutely sound. It may be that circum- | stances have made it necessary for | debtors to ask for reconsideration of | sums involved, but America has been absolutely right in insisting that any such revision be a matter of agreement between debtor and creditor. This insistence on the sanctity of contracts seems now more than ever | necessary. Without it there can be no | hopes of reconstruction, and the ex- ample of the greatest and richest people | in the world in varying contracts by its own decision has made the prospects | of the World Economic Conference im- measurably more cbscure. Held Desperate Expedient. We all had hoped that in this con- | ference American leadership would be above all useful and forceful in bring- ing the world back to ecoromic sanity. | If this can be done there is the possi- bility of an immense increase in pros- perity well distributed throughout all classes. No country has ever had such a chance as America has now of confer- ring immense benefits upon all human- | ity by setting it to work io produce and consume the huge quantities of goods and comforts that modern productive capacity makes vossible for all of us. We have had good reason to hope that America was going to make full |use of this wonderful chance to take | the lead at a turning point in world | history. It was said recently by Sec- |retary of State Hull that America had | been” one of the leaders of economic ;muonnnsm and that now. when every nation, as a result, finds itself flat on | its back economically, it is high time |to recognize that American responsi- ‘ bility involves leadership in the opposite | direction. | ‘These were hopeful words and gave |us good cheer for the success of the | conference. Since then America not only has abandoned the gold standard, | but has refused to recognize the gold lause in debt contracts. | And so we come back to the conclu- sion that America has determined to produce a state of affairs so economi- cally impossible that the World Con- | ference must get busy and do some- | thing quickly. It seems a desperate | expedient. but we can only hope it may | be successful | ¢Copyright, 1933. by North Amer: paver Alliance. Inc.) {China Resumes Work to Complete Link in World’s Longest Railroad CANTON.—After a delay of 16 years, work again has been started here on the remaining 310 miles of track which must be laid to complete the Canton- Hankow Railway, a line which ulti- mately will give South China its first rail link with the north. The opening | of this railway not only will join Can- ton and Hongkong with Hankow, but, by rail connections already existing from the latter city, with all of Europe. Within two years, according to pres- ent plans of the Chinese government, travelers will be able to journey from Canton. or Hongkong direct to Berlin or Paris, entirely by rail. The journey to London will require about 16 days, representing a saving of 15 days over the fastest steamer route from Hong- kong. It will be by far the longest con- tinuous rail trip in the world, covering approximately 9,000 miles. Started by American. Americans of a generation ago may recall the Canton-Hankow project with keen interest, as it was begun originally | the by an American construction company as far back as 1903. Since then it has suffered much from economic and politi- cal rivalries, both domestic and interna- tional, with the result that to date only 391 miles of the total length, projected s 710 miles, stand completed. No extension of the line has been made since 1917, and the present activity is the result of a recent Chi-tung. That great international “grab” capitalists im- " sideration they received the contract to | build and manage the line. The firm | was known as the American-China De- velopment Co., now long extinct. Scheme Is Wrecked. Jealous European rivals soon wrecked the American builders’ scheme. Russia |and France were at that time keenly | interested in getting control of a north- south railway in China that would link French Indo-China with the thel Russian-dominated Chinese provinces of Manchuria. Capitalists of these two powers already had bought up all the shares of the Belgian syndicate that had begun building the Peking-Hankow Railway. and they now endeavored to get control of the American-China De- velopment Co. by similar methods. J. P. Morgan, whose house held the principal interest in the latter company, vigorously fought the movement when he became aware of it, but was unsuc- cessful, and Russo-French capitalists finally prevailed. Alarmed at this dee velopment, the Chinese hastily canceled concession, purchased all the hold- ings and development work, and com- pensated the Americans. Tdle For Years. ‘There the matter rested for a number of years. A few attempts were made to push the railway through, but not ’till the dynasty was overthrown and Dr. Sun Yat Sen became President of China was the project again seriously con- sidered. Under Chinese supervision the line was carried from Canton as far north as Shiuchow, 139 miles. Another 252 miles were laid from Hankow south- ward to gsha. There, except for trivial additions made between ecivil wars, work has stopped since 1917, ;g;n the beginning of the present pe- of widespread disorder, disturbance and changing regimes was ushered into (Copyright. 1933.) China Sends Observer On Chemical Warfare SHANGHAI, China—China wants to learn how to conduct chemical war- fare and for this purpose is turning to the United States. Cheng En-kwang, technical expert of the government’s arsenal administration, has been spe- cially appointed a dej to go to America to study this :s“rtuymhr phase of war-meking. Mr. Cheng has been instructed to remain three years in the United Star’s at various arsenais and doing cesearch work.