Evening Star Newspaper, December 16, 1934, Page 42

D-2 {THE EVENING STAR }' With Sundsy Morning Edition. -_ WASHINGTON,D.C. BUNDAY..,.December 16, 1934 THEODORE W. NOYES..Editor e The Evening ’snr Newspaper Company wow-Pork: Oce: 110 Eust 4208 8t Ghicaro Office: Lake Michican Bullding. opean Office; 14 Regent t. London. 4 glan " Rate by Carrier Within the City. T B0 wer month ar . ,.; 60c per month Biar Night Final Ediifon, Pinal and Sunday Star, 70c per month Dinal S5, vy e o et gach n made’ a month, Orders may be sent by mall or telephone NAtional 5000. Rate by Mafl—Payable tif’ Advance, land and Virginia. Mary] Wuu: 177, 81000 1mo.. 820 only. 7 8 6n 400 .00; 1 mo., All Other States and Canada. Binday” Galy.'.\, 137, $5.00; 1 mos 06 Member of the Assoclated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively en- titied to the use for republication of all a2ews dispatches credited to it or not other- wise credited in this paper and also the cal news published herein Al rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. mg: ‘Where Will the Inquiry Lead? The District is not anxious to cross ‘bridges before it comes to them. But high confidence in the President’s sin- cere desire not only to be absolutely fair to the District, but to end re- curring, harmful disputes over policy in appropriating for the District, renders important the matter of éx- amining certain bridges which lie ahead. The inquiry into local taxation has . been delegated to capable hands at the Treasury, and the President has suggested that it should be completed before Congress convenes. The scope of the inquiry has not been revealed, but the time available seems to limit it to a study of relative tax burdens. That would leave untouched many other elements that have even greater bearing on the subject of fiscal relations. The people of the District have nothing to do with deciding the amount or form of local taxation. But the action by the exclusively controlling Congress in the past few years regarding local taxation sup- plies a significant background against which the present tax inquiry should be examined. Shortly after the President’s in- auguration, in March, 1933, Congress passed the 1934 District bill, reduced by about 26 per cent. The Federal lump sum was reduced proportion- ately to its present figure of $5,700,000, Had the then existing local rete of taxation remained un- changed, the result would have been to tax the District for money which Congress refused to appropriate and to plle up surplus funds in the ‘Treasury. ‘The House eliminated a legislative rider of previous years which forbade any reduction in taxation, and in effect proposed that the tax rate be re- duced to $1.50 from $1.70. In arguing for the tax reduction, Chairman Buchanan of the Appropriations Committee, said: As my colleague has said, the tax rate is $1.70 on the fair full valuation of real estate. In my home State and in yours, when property is essessed for taxation purposes it is assessed at about 50 per cent of its fair value and taxes are paid on that amount. Here the property is assessed at full value and the tax rate of $1.70 is peid on the full value. This is an exorbitant and unreasonable real estate tax in this District. There are thousands of poor people at- tempting to buy homes in the District and for them to be required to pay $3.40 per $100 in taxes on the valua- tian of these homes according to the way property would be assessed in other States of the Union is too much. * * * The tax rate in the Dis- trict should be reduced from $1.70 to $1.50 on real estate. The tax rate was Iyter reduced, as recommended by the Commissioners. Last year the District bill was re- ported with a rider proposing that the tax rate on real estate and tangible personal property “shall be not more than $1.20 per $100 assessed valua- tion” for the ensuing fiscal year. The District was amaszed, when the bill came up for debate in the House, to hear from previous advocates of higher taxes impassioned pleas to re- duce the tax rate. And when Repre- séntative Ditter of Pennsylvania, ar- guing that the District sorely needed the revenue from current taxation, ‘was successful in his point of order against the legislative rider, those who & minute before had been pleading to reduce the District taxes jumped on Mr. Ditter and the defenseless Dis- trict of Columbia and denounced them with the sort of abuse that has become unfortunately traditional, ac- cusing the District of tax-dodging and other high crimes. To punish Mr. Ditter for arguing that the District should apply all its available taxes to pressing needs rath- er than reduce the rate of taxation, the House then reversed the recom- mendation of its committee — which had declared the District would not have to repay certain grants for “Fed- eral projects"—and on motion of those who had made the original rec- ommendation said the grants were a loan and deducted seventy per cent of the grants from the lump sum, reduc- ing it to the unheard-of figure of $4,539,205, Just three years ago this month the so-called Mapes Committee of the House recommended an increased tax burden for the District of about $4,100,000, which it proposed to cou- ple with a lump-sum appropriation “not to exceed $6,500,000.” The Sen- ate did not act on the Mapes program. For one thing, that program was ‘based on a demonstrably false premise. But the lump sum has nevertheless been reduced almost a million dollars under the drastic Mapes proposal. And the efforts of certain members of the House have been directed to an attempt to show that the District budget can be supported with a stead- iy diminishing Mfl. contribution, their eventual aim being to eliminate it entirely. But the budget, as reflected in the recent appropriation bills, does not represent District needs. District in- stitutions—schools, libraries, prisons, public welfare, health and hospitaliza- tion—have been and are suffering the demoralization of insufficient mainte- nance and development. Unmet and accumulated needs are piling up on every hand. 'The District is not keep- ing pace with progressive cities of the country, and the fault does not lie with local taxation. The broader ques- tion relates to Federal responsibility— the moral responsibility of the Na- Y | tional Government incurred through its exclusive control of the Capital City and the financial responsibility which accompanies that control. The Presi- dent’s study of fiscal relations will be incomplete without such considera- tions. ————— Senate Age. Under the Constitution, Senate life begins at thirty. Rush D. Holt, Sena- tor-elect from West Virginia, will not reach that constitutional age of dis- cretion and deliberation unt# next June, yet his term of office, to which he was elected November 6 last, be- gins on January 3. Walter S. Halla- nan, Republican national committe- man for West Virginia, has come to ‘Washington suggesting to the Repub- lican minority in the Senate that it organize a real fight to prevent Mr. Holt from taking a seat in the Senate when Congress opens, or at any time he may presept himself later. It is Mr. Hallanan's contention that Mr. Holt was not qualified under the terms of the Constitution to serve in the Senate at the time he offered himself for election; that he was not so qualified at the time of his elec- tion, and that he will not be qualified when the term for which he was chosen begins. The language of the Constitution regarding senatorial qualifications is as follows: “No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years and been nine years a citizen of the United States and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.” Mr. Holt, by waiting until next June, will have “attained to the age of thirty years.” If he does not offer himself to take the oath of office until that time, West Virginia will have only & single Sen- ator during the coming session of the new Congress. Other Senators have waited for long periods before quali- flying by presenting themselves in the Senate chamber to take the oath of office. If the people of West Virginia are content to be without their full representation in the Senate for the next six months, that is, of course, their concern. Mr. Hallanan contends that & “vacancy” will have occurred in the Senate if Mr. Holt does not present himself when Congress meets because he, Holt, is not qualified, and that vacancy should be filled by appointment by the Governor of West Virginia until another election is held. It does not appear likely that the Senate will permit Holt to take his seat if he should seek to do so before he actually attains to thirty years of age, if the question is raised in the Senate. If he stands aside until next June, and then offers himself, Holt will have attained the necessary age. However, the further question has been agitated whether he could be legally elected Senator at a time when he was not qualified to serve. To this it is replied that the Constitu- tion does not say a person must have attained to the age of thirty years when he offers himself for election, but merely that he must have attained to that age to be & Senator. The question has its nice legal points. It may even require court de- cision. Mr. Holt’s party has the votes in the Senate to seat him at any time it wishes. But jt is not believed that a Democratic tor would be any quicker to violate a provision of the Constitution in order to seat Holt than a Republican Senator would be. A scientific board is commended as worthy of a $16,000,000 appropriation. A protest may be expected that its ob- jects cannot include scientific finance. The Throne of France. France has other things to think and worry about these days than the restoration of the monarchy, but that does not prevent his would-be imperial majesty, the Duc de Guise, chief pre- tender to the French throne, from placing before the nation the social and political “platform” on which he bases his hopes of ruling some day as “Jean IIL” It is the first per- sonal move of the kind by the head of the Bourbon-Orleans house from his place of exile in Belgium. Hith- erto the pretender’s claims have been presented mainly by the Paris Royal- ist newspaper, L'Action Francaise. Now the duke has a personal mouth- piece, a new monthly periodical called Le Courier Royal, edited by his son, Henri, “Comte de Paris.” Its maiden number, just off the press, recites that the Duc de Guise’s present renewal of his bid for the throne of France is inspired by & be- lief that the nation “in adversity” will now place in the pretender the confidence refused in days “when France’s material prosperity afforded her the illusion of being happy.” If the people will trade a republic for & kingdom under his sway, the duke promises economic recovery under & corporative regime which the French Royalists claim they advocated long before Premier Mussolini launched it in Italy. The pretender hints that under his royal rule, too, France would follow a more realistic foreign policy, seek greater power at sea along the lines Japan is now pursuing, and generally “draw judicious inspiration from the rights and duties devolving upon the second colonial power in the world.” A bigger, bolder and better France, in other words, and happier days all along the line, is the vista envisioned if the land of Lebrun, Flandin, Laval and Doumergue will but throw off its THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, DECEMBER 16, republican shackles in favor of the pomp and glories of the ancient em- pire. Sweeping political changes in France cre not beyond the range of possibility within the measurable fu- ture, but beneath the graceful bridges of the Seine much water will flow be- fore the purple dreams of the Duc de Guise and the Comte de Parls come true. “Vive le Rol!” is still a far cry in La Belle France. —_————t———— Taxation Without Representation. On the 161st anniversary of the Boston Tea Party there is still taxa- tion without representation in the Dis- trict of Columbia, and the principle is no less iniquitous now than it was then. Nor are the provisions of a Constitution, framed by those Who detested taxation without representa- tion and resting exclusive control over the District with Congress, contradic- tory to the aspirations of those who hope to see a long-standing wrong sgainst the citizens of Washington corrected, & wrong which Senator Capper has succinctly characterized as a “glaring violation of the theory of republican government.” The new Congress will be petl- tioned by the District to right this wrong by new consideration and fa- vorable action on the joint resolution submitting to the people of the United State a constitutional amendment granting to Congress the right to give the people of the District voting rep- resentation in the House and Senate and permitting them participation in national elections and access to the Federal courts. Such an amendment would not re- duce the power of Congress in respect to the Capital; it does not propose the admission of the District into the Union as a State; it does not propose destruction of the “ten miles square”; it does mot disturb in any way the financial Telationship between Capital and Nation, nor does it involve changes in the Municipal Govern- ment. The amendment would bestow upon the Americans of the District a dis- tinctive, basic right of the American citizen to participate in & government which roots its justice in consent of the governed, and which inseparably couples taxation and arms bearing as a soldier with representation. As long as these Americans dre de- nied the rights of representation in the Government which taxes them and sends them to war, so long will there remain in America shameful ap- plication of the principle against which the patriots of 1773 protested. —_—a——— Ambassador Bullitt said he intended to learn Russian. He is a man of intellectual ability and would no doubt acquire rapid mastery of the languege if his studies were not in- terrupted by official trips to Wash- ington, D. C. The “7-a” quoted by Mr. Green introduces numbers as well as initials and makes the problem look more like high-class algebra than ever, Senator Borah points out that Santa Claus is disclosing too great an in- clination to give to those who already have. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Words of Wisdom. ‘There’s always some one ready To tell you what to do And keep your footsteps steady As life you journey through. There’s always some one knowing Just what your course should be And wisdom great bestowing For pay or, maybe, free. They teach you how to nourish Yourself with food and drink; They put the latest flourish On what you say or think. Across these broad dominions ‘Their chains of thought they wreathe. They teach us our opinions And how to walk and breathe. Their joyous demonstration Throws into havoc sad The natural information That once you thought you had. Their intricate deductions Make fact seem strangely dense As they impart instructions On simple Common Sense. An Unwelcome Tribute. “Why didn’t they re-elect me?” “They wanted you home for a little while,” replied Senator Sorghum. “Your constituents regard you as one of the finest speakers in the country, an’ there's no sense nor justice in lettin’ an unappreciative Congress ‘monopolize your eloquence forever.” Children have become s0 wise that they are often found making patient efforts to humor their parents’ theory that there is a Santa Claus. Always Present. Man talks of art with lofty mind And duty that we must not shirk. But, just the same, you'll always find A price tag somewhere on his work. Not an Admirer. “Your husband loves horses, doesn't he?” “No,” replied young Mrs. Torkins. “But he is always going to the races.” “Yes, But the way he talks about the horses after he gets home is some- thing dreadful.” Fkflh Precedent. “Nero fiddled while Rome burned,” said Mr. Growcher. “But that’s no ex- cuse.” “For what?” “Our cook playing the piano while the turkey scorches.” No Limit, Oh, Christmas comes but once a year, But on the giving gay- You can, to push along good cheer, Take encores any day. “De man dat chases rainbows,” sald Uncle Eben, “generally finds dat he has failed to ketch up wif any of the colors, ‘cepting de blues* * 1934—PART TWO. _—_'—————————————'*_fi End of the Chain Gang BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. UNITY OF BY THE RIGHT REV. At the beginning of the greatest pref movement the world has known it was written.concerning & group who represented diverse in- terests and different points of view that, “they were all with one accord in one place.” It was this uhity of purpose and this desire for closer fellowship in a great enterprise that set in motion a religious move- ment that, begun in obscurity, was destined to spread around the world. As one considers the feebleness of the first efforts of these men and the violent opposition with which they met it seems little less than a miracle that the church should have spread with such rapidity until it encompassed the anclent world and, in due time, spread to places near and remete. True, it was inspired by devotion to & supreme Master. Contrasting the influence of Christ with other great world leaders, Na- poleon in one of his more reflective moments spoke of the rise of great empires and the influences that brought them into being. He compared the scepters of kings and emperors with that of Christ’s, and concluded by observing that, where force and the possession of autocratic power had ultimately . failed with the death of those who exercised them, Christ with the scepter of love had continued to affect the minds and hearts of men and to increase the extent of His world empire century by century, ‘The progress of the church has been determined by the unity that has prevailed within its enterprise. periods when it was halted have been those where dissensions have arisen, resulting in divisions within its ranks. Obviously, unity cannot be confused with uniformity. There has been and there will always be differences of administration. This was early recog- nized by the Christian leaders, and one of the greatest of, them said: “There are differences of administra- tion, but the same Lord.” Funda- mentally, the expressed faith of the Christian church of every name is largely the same. Dissimilarity in habit and practice, to the unthinking and undiscriminating, is often taken as an evidence of breaches in the structure, that threaten its solidarity and security. Temperamental differ- ences, traditional backgrounds and early training naturally affect church PURPOSE JAMES E. FREEMAN, D. D, LL.D, D.C. L, Bishop of Washington erences and determine church affiliation, but they do not and should not affect unity of spirit among those ‘who profess allegiance to one common Lord. There have been times within the life of the church where too zealous adherence to one’s denomina- tional preference and a too great in- sistence upon the superiority of its peculiar practices and forms has led to rivalries, strife and bitter contro- versy. This form of arrogance and conceit has militated against the progress of the Christian religion and serfously impaired its influence and power. It has run counter to the ex- plicit teachings of the Master and has hurt the cause for which He gave His life. In His great prayer made on the eve of His crucifixion, He ex- pressed His desire for the church's unity in these words: “That they all be one as Thou, Father, art in Me and I in Thee.” On another occasion to an over-zealous disciple who had rebuked one who was not of their company, He said: “Forbid him not, for he that is not against us is on In all His contacts with men, the gentleness and tolerance of Jesus were conspicuously evident. He always reckoned with their limitations and in doing so He broke down opposition and won their obedience to His will. Nineteen centuries have passed since He walked among men, spreading His Gospel of love and preaching the doctrine of the more abundant life. Multiplied churches and agencies de- signed to teach His philosophy of life ‘The | have come and gone. Some have sur- vived through the ages but even to this latest hour willful misunder- standing of His high purpose has dis- turbed the peace and progress of His church and {issued in discord and strife. Repeatedly, great opportuni- tles have been afforded “the church of every name to effect far-reaching and salutary reforms, but they have falled of realization for lack of unity and a spirit of comradship. Now and again crises have compelled the churches to recognize a common in- terest and to erilist in a common cause. We are bound to believe that the world is passing through such a crisis today, and a fresh opportunity is afforded for & finer expression of unity. Without it the progress of Christ's Kingdom will be hindered and another supreme opportunity be lost. New Superbrain Trust Now Wanted to Co-ordinate New Deal Recovery Plans BY OWEN L. SCOTT. ‘Wanted, at the White House: A new superbrain trust to unscramble and co-ordinate the plans of the late- lamented ordinary brain trust. The Nation need not be surprised if some time soon’a notice to that general effect is reported in the news- papers. It would be induced by the now obvious fact that, one by one, the best laid schemes of the New Deal are going awry. This apparently is the inevitable outcome when an ir- resistible economic theory meets an immoyable economic fact. The latest of these collisions to come forcibly to notice involves one of the most {irresistible of the New Deal rich, more to those of small incomes. A., among other alphabetical agen were created to reverse the trend to- ward wealth concentration and large profits. So much discussion surrounded this theory that industry became frighten- ed. Dr. Rexford Guy Tugwell, as leading brain truster, was pictured as a man who would destroy the profit system. The Blue Eagle came under attack as an agency to divide up wealth. To offset the alarm Presi- dent Roosevelt and members of his cabinet felt it necessary to reassure business men that profits were not to be destroyed under the New Deal. EE But what are the facts? Is there anything to show that wealth now is being divided up more evenly?s Hardly. On the basis of a careful scrutiny of 1933 income tax figures, made public December 10 by the Treasury Department, big industry and the wealthy have little cause for concern over the trend. Many ob- servers had suspected as much, but until these figures were published there was little tangible proof. The facts are these: In the first year of the New Deal one-third more corporations net earnings than in the lowest de- pression year, 1933, These corpora- tions reported 1933 earnings 35 per cent larger than the year before. That suggested no threat to the profit system. Besides, the gain in earnings was concentrated in the manufacturing in- dustry and in the trades. This fact pointed to N. R. A. code policies of price fixing and production control as having an influence in making some industries more profitable, while others, confronted with higher wage costs under the codes, lost money. The trend toward increasing profits has continued during the second year of the New Deal. The National City Bank of New York reports that for the first three quarters of 1934 corpora- tion profits amounted to & return of 5.1 per cent on capitalization, as com- pared with 2.8 per cent in 1933. * ok k% But that is not all. There were more evidences of wealth concentra- tion in reports on individual incomes. As all readers of newspapers have learned, 46 individuals earned more than $1,000,000 in 1933 as compared with 20 in 1932 In addition, during the initial ex- perience with N. R. A., total wage, and salary payments, instead of in- creasmg, decreased more than half a billion dollars, as compared with the bottom year of the depression. From the pool of money paid out to wage earners and salaried people, a larger amount went to persons receiving $25000 and above, while a sharply decreased amount went to persons and the Emergency Relief Adminis- tration supported an artificial wage scale in the building trades, while N. R. A. was busy giving the build- ing material industry a machinery to be used in helping to maintain high building material costs. Now a housing program is being brought forward to rescue P. W. A. Or take the Agricuitural Adjust- ment Administration’s experiment in cotton. Through production control and through Federal loans, the price of cotton has more than doubled in the past 18 months. In addition, benefit payments to the extent of $241,000,000 have been poured into the South. That region reports the greatest prosperity for land-owners in years. But side by side with that pros- perity goes an astonishing increase in the number of persons on public relief . |rolls. This increase in some large centers amounts to as much as 100 per cent compared with a year ago. Just what does this mean? Simply that in seeking to aid one class of the population, the Government appar- ently has injured another class. The land-owner and the favored renter have been helped greatly, but the laborer, the tenant and the share- cropper have been cut loose from their former jobs, because there was & cut of 40 per cent in the acreage planted to cotton. Just s when an Industry closes down it throws people out of jobs, so when agriculture closes part of its plant, labor loses out. The }::. in cotton is set at about 300,000 Those losing out are getting Government relief, for e paid by general * ok ¥ x Or the searcher for policies that were designed to bring one result, and actually brought another, can turn to the Government's silver pro- gram. This plan was supposed to make every Chinese a customer of American manufacturers and Amer- can farmers. It was to raise the price of silver. China has a lot of silver, so with higher prices she, could sell her silver to the United States and take goods in return, The Chi- nese sold their silver, all right, but the result wasn’t as anticipated. As the silver went out, deflation set in and the Chinese found themselves in financial trouble. They turned out to be the one people buying less from the United States this year than last. But American owners of silver and owners of silver mines reaped a rich reward. Even the new housing program of- | fers its complications. Just as it gets ready to start out on a plan to offer long-term financ- ing to people desiring to build houses, and long-term refinancing to banks having mortgages they want made liquid, the F. H. A. discovers that about 42 States have laws prohibit- ing first mortgages for an amount above 50 per cent of the assessed value of the property. Their loans ‘were to be up to 80 per cent. This reveals the need for State co-op- eration. But before any building boom gets under way, there must be an incen- tive to build. At present people can rent houses or buy existing houses more cheaply than they can build If the Government sets out to re- verse that situation by doing the building itself, and cutting down costs of construction and of financing, it runs smack up against the fact that it is undermining present real estate values. The Government itself will have loaned $3,000,000,000 on the Capital Sidelights BY WILL P. KENNEDY. “Who is Greenwood?”—many are asking these days when the candi- dates for the House leadership are being named over. Greenwood has been in the House for 12 years and has all that time been an active party leader—is a member of the Rules Committee and dean of the Indiana .delegation—re- ceived his master of laws degree from George Washington University ten years ago. He was caucus chairman of the Democratic party in the House in the Seventieth Congress and was Democratic whip in the last Con- gress and has been on the Rules (policy) Committee in the last two Congresses. He was the first man to declare himself as a candidate for the House leadership and exclusively for that office, whereas most other candidates declared first for the speakership and then swung to be leadership aspirants. Indiana has not had a Speaker or floor leader in fifty years. Michael gen was Speaker just after the Civil 'ar. Incidentally, Greenwood is one of the most popular men on the Demo- cratic side of the House. * x % There isn't much Yuletide spirit around the Capitol Building these days, because the employes are not going to be paid off before Christmas, so they have to curb their desires to help fill Santa Claus’ sack. Also, there are worried if not mournful echoes from all parts of the country—some of the employes are at their homes in the States and cannot receive their pay checks, which will be mailed on De- cember 31, in time to cash them, make reservations, using this pay to get them back on the job in time for the opening of Congress. ‘This affects some 2,300 persons and, counting their families, several times that number to the amount of $442,500. Usually it has been the custom to pass a resolution in House and Senate to pay off the employes on December 20, the idea being that this would al- low many of them funds to take a trip home for the holidays. Last year and again this year, Congress not being in session until January 3, the resolution could not be passed and—Christmas funds are lacking. This makes a very important difference to many—per- haps those who wish to go home for Christmas with dear old mother, fear- ing it may be for the last time—or maybe to see a new baby in the family. Tt takes a lot of joy out of Christmas. On the House side of the Capitol there are 1,465 employes affected With a total pay roll of $272,500. On the Senate side there are some 850 employes with a pay roll around $170,000. Members of the Senate and House themselves are not affected, be- cause they are not covered in the usual resolution. * X % X ‘The distribution of statues through- out the Capitol, along the corridors, has so impressed and pleased mem- bers of Congress that they are now talking of taking statues of the Na- tion’s heroes which are scattered through the Capital City in various parks where they are seldom or never seen by visitors and lining them up on the Mall, along the new Consti- tution avenue, facing the great group of new Government buildings, where they will make an impression on visitors from all parts of the coun- try, sightseeing in Washington. —— culture and an enthusiastic “planner” of the Fabian persuasion he has set himself to the task of putting the farmer upon his legs by a system of protection, quotas, subsidies and all the paraphernalia so dear to the heart of the planner. What will be the effect of all this ujn the consuming public of & oun- try nearly 80 per cent of which is urban, engaged in manufacture and largely dependent on foreign trade, remains to be seen. Its effect upon the relations of Britain with the dominions is becoming apparent. It is from the dominions, and espe- clally from Australia, that the food supplies of the country are mainly drawn. Take away the British mar- ket from the wheat, meat, fruit and awool trade of Australia and New Zea- land, and the occupation ‘of those countries is gone. You can buy New Zealand butter and Australian mutton cheaper in English shops than they can be bought in Melbourne or Auckland, and at a price with which the British farm- er cannot possibly compete. And though blood is thicker than water, it is cold comfort to the British farm- er that he is being beaten out of the fileld by his kinsmen overseas even more than by the “foreigner.” * * ok ok In rehabilitating his client at the expense of the industrial community Mr. Elliot is brought up bluntly against the competition of the dominions. If he cannot handicap that competition in some degree, he can do nothing for the British farmer. Hence his sys- tem of quotas and restrictions applies to the dominions no less than to foreign countries. It is less drastic, of course, and is qualified by prefer- ences, as against the foreign competi- tor, but it is effectively limiting the market—and more restrictions are contemplated. It is against this policy that Dr. Page has issued his warning. He is the leader of the Agricultural party in Australia, and at an agricultural conference he said two things: (1) That unless Australia can sell her produce freely in Great Britain she will be unable to meet debt commit- ments, to buy tish machinery, or to continue the development on which huge sums of British money had been expended. (2) That if Britain in- sisted on restricting Australian goods, Australia would have to consider adopting some “unnatural and un- economic policy of providing for her own requirements internally.” But the ccmplaint on this side is that this is what Australia has already done. As the Manchester Guardian observes, Australian poli- ticlans can scarcely mount the high horse in view of the way in which Australia has interpreted the Ottawa agreement and in view of the gen- = erous treatment hitherto accorded by and offer the same type of values. All these things simply reflect the Hng. | gifficulties that arise when the Fed- eral Government sets out to help groups in the population. way to do been done. (Copyright. 1934.) Britain Concerned Over Down-Under Economics BY A. G. GARDINER. LONDON, ' December 15.— The warning which Dr. Page, the acting Australian premier, has addressed to the British government is ominous. It illustrates the economic storm that is blowing up between England and the dominions. The storm has its origin in the new us to Australian goods. What are the Australian duties on cotton goods it they are not part and parcel of “an unnatural and uneconomic pol- icy”? ‘Those duties' are practically prohibitive of certain Lancashire ex- ports and have recently been the oc- casion of an embittered feeling in Lancashire, certain towns even going so far as to threaten a boycott of Australian commodities. * k % X There is no doubt that Mr. Elliot would like to regulate Australian exports still further, but, as he said in the House of Commons, he can do little for two years. Much will happen before those two years are up. Things are not going well with the present British government and, if the cost of living rises, as it is certain to do under the Elliot policy, it is quite on the cards that the next election will see the government out in. A New Deal for prison labor, which end of the chain gang if carried into effect as planned, has n recommended to President Roose- velt by & special committee created by executive order last October. From the days of the use of forced labor in the erection 6f the Pyramids and before, down through the ages, prison labor has been & major human prob- 1ém. Where once it meant slave labor, usually following the taking of mili- tary captives, the problem has devel- oped into a modern penological one with a close association in relation to modern industry. The President’s Committee, consist- ing of Joseph N. Ulman, chairman; PFrank Tannenbaum and W. Jett Lauck, has just presented its report. It calls for the use of certain of the emergency organizations set up by the Federal Government to bring about a thorough reform of the prison labor situation while at the same time providing a source of steady supply for the Federal Emergency Relief Ad- ministration, funds being _allocated from the Public Works Administra- tion to make the plan workable. Briefly, the scheme would call for the granting of $50,000,000 of P. W. A. funds which, with an equal amount appropriated by the States, would con- stitute a pool of $100,000,000, which would be administered in such a man- ner as to remove prison labor from the realms of competition with prod- ucts of free labor and of local politics. ‘The plan would bring to an end the prison competition in production with outside industry, and by this means would increase the amount of em- ployment in outside industry. This, in turn, would have the effect of tak- ing some thousands of workers off re- lief rolls. The meny-sided plan has the effect of attacking several prob- lems simultaneously, but the commit- tee and those who have learned of it regard its chief value as lying in a permanent solution of the prison labor impasse. Only those who have studied the matter realize what a problem prison labor constitutes. To begin with, all criminologists agree that it is impor- tant to give prisoners something to do. The most inhumane form of punish- ment, in the opinion of some stu- dents, is enforced confinement with absolutely nothing to do. When such a course is followed, there is little it any chance of correction, and in modern penal systems correction as much as punishment is the object of imprisonment. Criminals are Hired Out. ‘This necessity for employment has raised two grave difficulties. On the one hand it has resulted in abuses, chief of which is the chain gang. By this time most Americans are famil- lar with the chain gangs of the South, where treatment at times is alleged to reach appalling depths of crueity. Some counties work chain gang prisoners only on road building and similar public works but others fol- low the contract system. They hire gangs of laborers to lumber camps and to contractors who have been found in some cases to treat their prisoners about like cattle—worse if anything. Another part of the contract sys- tem has to do with indoor work such as overall making, work shirt making, broom making, and so on, work done usually on machines and under the supervision of foremen who grow to regard their prison workers more or less as animals. A prison warden, a sheriff, or some other will have the authority to sell the output to a dealer. The workers are paid a pittance, but there is a large margin of profit for the contractor. . The prison officlals have been found in certain investigations to be not above Business-Government Consumer Conscious BY HARDEN COLFAX. Business and Government have he- come “consumer conscious” as never before, and new Federal agencies and private industrial and commer- cial groups are springing up “in de- fense” of the consumer. Among private groups there are the commercial research departments of & number of universities; a new | orgenization called the “Consumer Foundation,” which will attempt to | deal with the problem of consumer credit, 5o as to aid in reducing the interest cost involved in installment financing; and older private research | agencies that make a business of “looking out for the consumer.” For more than a year the Con- sumers’ Advisory Board of the N. R. A. has been working with the Bureau of Home Economics in the Depart- ment of Agriculture to get into in- dustrial codes provisions designed for the consumer’s benefit. The Consumers’ Division of the Na- tional Emergency Council was recent- ly set up to co-ardinate the work of all emergency units functioning in the interest of the consumer end, to- gether with its county councils throughout the country, to “promote the general welfare of consumers, through compilation and dissemi- nation of factual economic informa- tion of interest to consumers.” In the old-line bureaus of the Federal Government there is a con- tinuation of the work of the Labor Department in studying statistics of living costs among wage-earning fami- lies; @ continuation, with added im- petus from N. R. A. code-making, of the work relating to labeling of consumer goods, guides to quality buy- ing, etc., of the Bureau of Home Eco- nomics, and new responsibilities on the part of the Bureau of Standards, Department of Commerce, in further- ing standardization of sizes and quali- ties of varlous specific items of con- sumer * X X ¥ The activities named are designed primarily “for the consumer.” Now comes Secretary Roper’s Business Ad- visory and Planning Council—with recognition that practical remedies call for practical co-operation be- tween consumers and trade—recom- mending that the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce set up a special unit to accomplish research for factual data to serve as a basis of practical consumer-distributor- producer co-operation. ‘The Bureau of Foreign and Domes- tic Commerce announces that a con- sumer market section has been estab- lished and is now undertaking as its first project & study of the use and ownership of certain durable goods by consumers with various incomes, based on data gathered in 64 cities. This study will determine the extent to ‘which consumers in each income group own mechanical refrigerators, auto- mobiles, heating fatilities and other equman. Data on the first city stu is expected to be ready next month. Last year the National Capital gave 8 striking {llustration of what may be accomplished by co-operation between consumer and merchant. , in trying to cut down one large, avoidable distribution expense that adds to the price of almost every- thing bought—the excessive returns of merchandise —the District of Co- lumbia Federation of Women’s Clubs took the initiative in & movement to this unsound practice. On Christmas gifts alone, it was estimated, the value of returns was between & . accepting graft and perquisites out of the profits. Local politics often play a part in the opportunity to share in these prcfits from sweated prison labor. There is still anothet aspect. That has to do with the competition of prison-made goods with the products of free labor. When jobbers, whole- salers and contractors can obtain goods,at a very low rate from prisons, their own incentive is to undersell competing free-labor factories. This supply of goods from prison shops fills part of the trade demands and, therefore, diminishes the demand for free-labor goods. This, in turn, less- ens the number of jobs for free workers. The whole system works in a series of cycles and yet one must :ln{s come back to the necessity or keeping prisoners - b g P properly em. A Prison Labor Compact. What is regarded as one of the most important features of the com- mittee’s plan is the allocation of $50,~ 000,000 of P. W. A. funds to place the whole thing on a fresh and cleaner basis. The part of it specially de- pended upon is that which provides that a State shall be assisted with its prison problem provided it puts up a part of the money. Unless it does pay its share, it may not benefit from the P. W. A. funds. This money bait, held out by the Federal Government, is expected to be sufficiently alluring to overcgme any political difficulties from officials within the States. Only a central Government, only & Govern- ment with money to spend could weld the whole country $hto one prison system which would attack the en- tire lprohlem at once instead of piece- meal. The special committee has been working in co-operation with the N. R. A, and it is with the aid of that organization that it is hoped to make the plan operable. Under what is known as the prison labor com- pact, a Prison Labor Authority was created to act in harmony with the various industrial codes of the N. R. A. Thus, goods of a certain standard, even though prison made, have been granted the right to use the Blue Eagle label. A strong objection has been made to this by free labor factories ene gaged in the same lines of manuface ture and, it is expected, this would be ended under the new plan, or the label modified to make clear that any article bearing it was the product of prison labor. The importance of this is seen when it is stated that in 22 States prison labor turns out 23,000,- 000 shirts a year. Large quantities of cordage and twine, school desks, automobile license plates and other competitive articles also are made. The Federal Emergency Relief Ad- ministration buys vast quantities of goods which could be made by prison labor. State and local governments could use prison products without turning disposition of them over to contractors. With Federal authority at the head of the whole system, & standardized procedure could be fol- lowed. The committee heard some 50 witnesses, experts on various as- pects of the problem, and this plan, largely the work of Mr. Tannenbaum of the committee, is what has evolved. It remains to be seen whether the plan is put into effect, but it is be- lieved more than likely as it is serve iceable in so many directions. It re- mained for the derangements of the depressed times to make possible the only fundamental and comprehensive solution of the prison-labor problem, and officials who have seen the plan declare that it is of as much impor- tance as the abolition of child labor. Fifty Years Ago In The Star Pifty years ago a measure was pend- ing in Congress which raised an issue % s to what was styled the Isthmian colontal policy of the Canal. United States in connec- tion with the proposed construction of a transoceanic canal in Central America. The Star of De- cember 17, 1884, thus discusses the matter: “Some of the Senators seem to be rather favorably disposed to the Nica- ragua Canal treaty, and possibly it may be ratified. The questions in- volved are, however, of the greatest importance and will be considered no doubt with the care they require. To enter on the policy mapped out by the administration will subject this coun- try to criticism in both Great Britain and Prance and we should be prepared to sustain ourselves in any argument that may arise. England will claim that we violate our treaty obligations and Prance will see in the scheme & plan to ruin her canal at the Isthmus of Panama. The treaty will bind this country to a colonial policy heretofore avoided, but perhaps now no longer feasible in view of the closer Telations of commercial nations springing out of the improved facilities of intercourse of today. We shall also be to augment the strength of our Navy in order to comply with the terms of the treaty, under which we guarantee the defense of the canal against en- emies. At present our Navy could not defend anything against anybody, but the signs of the times point to re- form in this respect, whether we have with our Constitution. But as a mate ter of fact the Government has re- peatedly come to the assistance of private enterprise on behalf of proj- ects of national magnitude and Bn- litical significance. The subsidizes . Pacific rallroads are ready illustra tions; and it may be added that the history of these roads in their tions to the Government shows dangers which lurk in a liberal and suggests caution in en new concessions in the fuf the country, fourth reprint. h...