Evening Star Newspaper, September 15, 1935, Page 47

BUREAUCRACY GROWTH RAISES SERIOUS PROBLEM 19,792 Mor(“l;cderal Workers in 30 New Agencies Worry to Administration and War of Correction Is On. BY SAMUEL W. BELL. ARGELY lost sight of in the ex- cited rush of emergency legis- lation in the first days of the Roosevelt administration, and pertly obscured by the “must” pro- gram jammed through Congress in the last session, the nature and ex- tent of the Federal bureaucracy built by the New Deal is just beginning to become generally known. As it now stands in startling outline, revealing its size and construction, it is perhaps not unnaturai that the reason for its continuance should be questioned, both inside and out, by & large number of those who serve the New Deal. Within the last two weeks two or- ganizations of Federal workers—the National Federation of Federal Em- ployes, 45,000 strong, and the Amer- ican Federation of Government Em- ployes, with a membership of 25,000, have met in annual convention with the merit principle of Federal em- playment before them as the major issue. For, in the words of Harry B. Mitchell, president of the Civil Serv- Ice Commission; Luther Steward, pres- ident of the N. F. F. E,, and E. Claude Babcock, president of the A. F. G. E,, to say nothing of the Republican Na- tional Committee, at no time in the history of American Government has there been greater need for applica- tion of the merit system. Battle for Correction. With the National Federation pledged to raise a $100,000 defense fund against political spoilsmen, and the American Federation, despite in- terorganization difficulties, agreed on a legislative reform program, the bat- tle is on to correct a situation which has turned Washington into a “boom” town instead of the seat of deliberative government. In the three months from April 30 to July 31 the number of civil officers and employes in the executive branch of the Federal Government rose 19,- 792 to & new peace-time high of 729,- 769. And this does not include 31,682 on the part-time rolls under authority of the Department of Agriculture to hire county agents and the 440218 special employes of the Civillan Con- servation Corps—in other words, a Federal pay roll. without those in the legislative or judicial branches or the Army and the Navy, of 1,201,669. Since March 4, 1933, some 30 new agencies have been created, most of them under executive order, with an employe list of approximately 120,000, or about one-sixth of the total full- time civilian Federal employes. With- out the 260,000 postal workers, the warkers in the New Deal agencies con- stitute about one-fourth of the per- sonnel of the executive branch. With few exceptions, notably the Farm Credit Administration, a devel- opment of the old Federal Farm Loan Board, and the Federal Communica- tions Commission, a flowering of the old Radio Commission, the New Deal agencies have been named outside the civil service lists. Additional New Agencies. In addition, new agencies have been | ereated under the legislation required | by the administration in the last ses- sion of Congress, and only one, the Bituminous Coal Commission, is un- der the civil service. | This growth apparently has become one of the administration's chief con- cerns, not only because of political im- ‘ plications, but because of increasing ; internal difficulties created by clash- ! ing of authority, as exemplified by the | controyersy between Harold L. Ickes, | Secretary of the Interior, and Harry | L. Hopkins, Federal emergency relief administrator. | President Roosevelt has made a start at bringing some order out of the confusion and has hinted at re- British Are Aroused Over “Bootleg™ Ties LONDON (#).—England is aroused presently over the matter of the old school tie. Baskets full of letters are being written to editors—some of them in | an alarmingly bellicose spirit—and the subject is likely to reach the House of Commons any day now. Unscrupulous haberdashers who bootleg genuine old school, old regi- mental and old club ties to unauthor- ized persons, like costermongers and operators of pneumatic drills, are being called hard names in print. Maybe the clothing merchants aren't doing it purposely. Perhaps the purchasers—all indi als of low cunning—Ilie like troopers about having attended Eton in order to obtain one of the coveted cravats. All the same, it's the merchant’s responsibility, de- clare an outraged people, and his the problem of finding a solution. Old Etonians, old Harrovians and old Gordon Highlanders are plenty tired of walking into their favorite pubs and being confronted by bar- tenders on whose chests gleam the dear old red, green and pink stripes, or the equally hallowed blue, orange and brown stripes. It's disconcerting. There would be similar chaos in America, for instance, if the five-and- tens began giving away a Phi Beta Kappa key with every purchase, or if Harvard diplomas could be bought at the corner grocery. “Since seeing my school tie on a lorry driver I have taken mine off duction in two executive orders, put- ting more than a dozen bureaus and boards under the Bureau of the Budget. Further, he said in a radio address to the Young Democrats in Milwaukee on August 24: “Government now demands the best trained brains of every business and profession. Government today re- quires higher standards of those who would serve. It must bring into its service greater and greater compe- tence. The conditions of public work must be improved and protected. Mere party membership and loyalty no longer can be the exclusive test. ‘We must be loyal, not merely to per- sons or parties, but to the higher conception of ability and devotion that modern government requires.” This statement brought immediate reply from the Republican National Committee. The President was re- minded: “No administration has gone to the lengths the Roosevelt adminis- tration has gone to debauch the public service by filling every possible office, from the highest in the gift of the President, such as cabinet officers, to the lowest in the service of the Government, such as laborers, with individuals who have no other recom- mendation than the indorsement of Democratic politicians.” Greater Need of Merit. After the President’s acknowledge- ment of a need of a new policy in Government service, Mr. Mitchell, president of the Civil Service Com- mission, addressing the National Fed- eration convention, said: “There is in this country today greater need than ever before for application of the merit principle in Federal employment. The program of social security on which we have em- barked demands the best possible per- sonnel to insure its success.” At the conventioh, which raised $50,000 and set a goal for $50,000 more for a merit system emergency defense fund, a letteh was addressed to the President urging strengthening and extension of the Federal civil serv- ice system. The letter said: “It is our belief that this issue is exceeded in importance by none now facing the American people, and we again call upon you to do all within your power to bring about a change in the Federal personnel policy under which, during the past three years, the civil service has been undermined and spoilsmen have attained a sway without parallel in modern times. “While we have every confidence in your firm belief in the merit system, and are aware of your life-long spon- sorship of it, the legislative and ad- ministrative record of the past three years with respect to the merit system lead to the inescapable conclusion that the civil service has lacked that decisive support in many high quar- ters which is essential to its preser- vation.” Despite agreement of Government employes on the merit system, exist- ence of the two workers’ organiza- tions has beclouded the issue and per- mitted the administrative officers— constituting the bureaucratic oli- garchy of Washington—to proceed without restraint and shift the blame on the White House and Congress, the latter for enactment of legisla- tion not riveted with civil service re- quirements. Members of Congress have found themselves running virtual employ- ment agencies in their efforts to win- now out applications flooding their offices. Representative William Siro- vich, Democrat, of New York con- tends that he introduced his bill to turn over the job to the Civil Service Commission so that members of the House of Representatives might keep their minds on the business of legis- lating. (Copyright. 1¥35.) Museum for Hunting Is Founded in France SENLIS, France—After centuriea of waiting, Nimrod has a museum all | his own. This “mighty hunter before the Lord,” mentioned in Genesis, was certainly present in spirit when the new Hunting Museum—the only one of its kind in the world—was inaugu- rated with appropriate ceremonies in August in this town, about 30 miles from Paris. Senlis already has a magnificent cathedral, the ruins of a Roman amphitheater and a small literary and artistic colony of Americans; but, thanks to the generosity of an Amer- ican nimrod, Frederick H. Prince, who has been master of the famous Pau fox hounds for the past 25 years, this hunting museum has been added to the list. As its name indicates, this museum will be devoted to the arts and crafts of the chase. (Copyright, 1035.) N e R O Manchukuo Shifts Gauge of Railroads HSINKING.—New history now is being added to the railroad history of the Far East. The Manchukuo state railways, now under manage- ment of the South Manchuria Rail- way Co., will shift the gauge of the Hsinking-Harbin Railroad this month. At the turn of the century, when the Russians were building the former Chinese Eastern Railway, the engi- and never expect to wear it again,” writes one anguished victim. “Is there not something that can be done ¢o avoid such a painful situation.” Unknown Soldier’s Grave Is Uncovered LOUISBOURG, Nova Scotis.—Ex- eavators working at the site of the French fortress of Louisbourg, built three centuries ago by the French in an effort to retain their empire in the New World, recently discovered an unknown soldier’s grave which even after 260 years showed signs of having been made with unusual care. The soldier and his dog were killed defend- ing Louisbourg against British forces. Archeologists in charge of the work, ‘which some day will result in a partial usual care. The man had been a French officer, buttons from his uniform revealed. the course of this Summer’s tional museum. (Copyright. 1935.) neers laid the line with a 5-foot gauge in conformity with the practice of the Russian railroads. Now this is to be changed to 4 feet 8% inches, the standard of the South Manchurian Railway, which will oper- ate the road. Upon completion the South Manchurian Railway will oper- ate its fast all air-conditioned stream- lined Asia, with an average speed of 63 miles per hour for the entire run. (Copyright. 1935.) American Trucks In Service in Asia SHANGHAL — American motor trucks are in active service in the in- terior of Asia, according to a story that has come down the 3,000 miles of the Yangtze, from the high cold country of Tibet, to the American Malil Line in here. These machines were brought into Tibet in such knocked down form that even the largest individual packages could be carried on the backs of coolies. ‘The other stages of the journey were accomplished by the aid of the river junks and rafts and by yak train. Many of these trucks are being op- erated on a regular commercial freight and mail haul between the Sikkim Gateway and Gyantze, less than 100 miles from the Forbidden City of (Coprright, 1035.) THE SUNDAY BY THOMAS R. HENRY. MERICA has a quagmired gen- eration—its boys and girls now A blundering and stumbling through the critical period be- tween high school and college. Essentially for the benefit of this a $700,000 research project to develop a comprehensive program for the care and education of youth was an- nounced yesterday to be conducted urder the auspices of the American Council on Education. Privately financed and directed by cation and business, the program is entirely divorced from the youth project of the National Government although the one is expected to sup- plement the other. The directors, who will hold their first meeting to- morrow, hope to solve some of the generation by intensive, cbjective study and demonstrations by which their findings can be converted into practice. Life's Pattern Changed. ‘The American school system—and for that matter the whole American philosophy regarding the high school the pattern of life was relatively simple and well established. There were fixed goals and well-marked roads for reaching them. The boy could drop out of the class rcom and go to work at almost any time after he had passed the age of compulsory truant officer. It depended on the economic circumstances of his family and his own interests and ambitions. ‘There usually was a place for him in the outside world. He must either continue in school or get & job. There was not, on the whole, very much re- lationship between the two choices. Some boys dropped out before enter- ing high school, went into the world of industry, and often made far greater progress than their more fortunate comrades who continued through high school and college. Others went to work to earn enough | money to continue their educations. It was the time of “self-made men,” in the traditional Abraham Lincoln mould. There was an abundance of one thing—opportunity. There was opportunity for formal education. There was opportunity for progress | without formal education. America was expanding. It all depended—at least so the graduation owsors said— on the character and quality of the individual. For the girl it was a little different. She also might drop out of the class room at any time but, until within the last two or three decades, she had less opportunity. If she left school early there was likely to be a relatively unproductive period until she was married. Leaving school was not so clearly an economic gain from her point of view, and as a result high school graduating classes often were overloaded with girls. Their brothers, in many cases, already were holding down good jobs. Little Vocational Aid. Elementary education has certain basic objectives. It sought to give boys and girls the general back- grounds—reading, writing and arith- metic, in particular. It was intended to make America a literate Nation. Sometimes there was an attempt to fit the school program to some definite vocation, but more often there was not. The boy and girl—especially the boy—had the world to pick from. Youth found its own level in the chaotic bustle. America was proud of her school system. On the whole, it served ad- mirably its purpose. No other land had anything quite so good as it for the benefit of such an overwhelming majority of its youth, “The little red school house” was one of the Nation's Proudest boasts. It stood beside the “old log cabin” and the “little white church” as one of the corner stones of the American character. The Na- ‘| mentary schooling for their sons and transition group, the establishment of | a group of 14 eminent leaders in edu-| specifically fitted was teaching but, most difficult problems affecting this | generation—grew up in days when | education and the jurisdiction of the | [ the sunken Egypt's gold, has sailed STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, daughters. There was too much work to be done. School schedules used to be arranged so that the pupils could work in the flelds during the busiest seasons of the year when their ab- | sence would have meant a real sacri- fice. Much the same situation obtained, | on a higher level, in the colleges. Edu- | cation was cast largely in a tradi-| tional mould. When a boy or girl left college there were open doors in every direction. About the only occu- pation for which the graduate was in theory at least, there had been provided the basis equipment of in- formation and mental discipline which should form the background of any calling from politics to embalming. Under this system youth was pretty | well equipped to take care of itself. It had only to find a place and fit itself into the space. In the vast ma- jarity of cases, of course, the finding was purely fortuitous. The boy stum- bled into a hole in the economic| structure and stayed there, Now this has all changed. The es- tablishment of the research project is a recognition of the change. It has been made obvious by the depression, but it was under way long before the big stock market crash of 1929 that | marked the beginning of the present episode in American history. In order for youth to adjust after leaving school there had to be jobs. This| called for continuous expansion. The older generation had to get out of the ‘I way and it was perfectly willing to do | this by one road—the road upward. Age Ratios Now Higher. But now, largely through the ap- plication of science, the adult genera- tion is able to produce everything needed with far less effort than a few years ago. Those who have jobs keep them. Back in 1925, for example, 16 per cent of the railroad employes were under 25 years of ago. Today less than 3 per cent are in this age group. And this is one condition, the edu- cators feel, which will not be changed by the end of the depression. It prom- ises to be a permanent change in American life. There will be less and | | less opportupnity to learn a trade or & business by actually working at it. ‘The results have been far-reaching. ‘When a pupil comes to the end of the grades he has, generally speaking, only two possibilities before him—to con- tinue through high school or to do nothing with very little prospect of ever doing anything. As a result there has been an enormous influx of pupils into the secondary schools, so that, in & time of decreasing appropriations and mounting taxes, they have been burdened as never before. And the numbers of unemployed youngsters walking the streets, an economic bur- den on their families, have mounted. This is believed to be one essential ele- ment in the crime increase. In many cases the only way for the boy to get money is to steal it. He can no longer earn it and, in a time of such eco- nomic stringency, his parents no longer can give it to him. This is changing radically—and has been changing for some time—the perspective of American education. ‘The problem of its readjustment to the changing needs is one of the most vital problems, educators believe, af- fecting the future of America, There is no obvious path to follow. To de- termine such a path, or at least to clear away some of the ufiderbrush, is perhaps the chief objective of the $700,000 research project. It is one | characteristics of youth and an evalu- of the largest ever launched in the field of American education. It affects immediately a generation of approxi- SEPTEMBER 15, THE FUTURE IS A TRACKLESS SWAMP FOR MANY. mately 10,000,000 from 12 to 18 years| of age. They constitute the bogged generation. It is not, however, spe- cifically restricted to this group. ‘The commission acting under the auspices of the American Council on Education consists, in addition to for- mer Secretary of War Newton D. Baker, the following: Will W. Alex- ander of Atlanta, outstanding leader in the field of race relation; Ralph | Budd, president of the Burlington Railroad; L. D. Coffman, president of the University of Minnesota; Dorothy Canfield Fisher, prominent author; Willard E. Givens, secretary of the National Education Association; Henry 1. Harriman, past president of the United States Chamber of Commerce; Robert M. Hutchins, president of the University of Chicago; Chester H. Rowell, editor of the San Francisco Chronicle; William F. Russell, dean of Teachers' College, Columbia Uni- versity; Edith B. Stern, prominent New Orleans educator; John W. Stude- baker, United States Commissioner of Education; Miriam Van Waters, su- perintendent of the Massachusetts State Reformatory for Women, and | Matthew Woll, vice president of the | American Federation of Labor. | The program, still to be specifically | formulated, is projected to work toward four objectives: 1. A comprehensive analysis of the ation of the influences to which they | are subjected. 2. A continuous study of the com-| monly accepted goals in the care and | education of American youth, for the purpose of determining the adequacy of these goals in relation to present social, economic and political trends. 3. Investigation of agencles con- cerned with care and education of youth, and the eventual recommenda- tion of procedures which seem to in- fluence young people most effectively. 4. Systematic popularization and promotion of desirable plans of action through conferences, publications and demonstrations of promising pro- cedures. Material to Be Studied. ‘The first objective is in many ways the most essential, since it will seek to determine the actual material of this quagmired generation. Youth, by and large, has been taken for granted. Schools and cclleges, of course, have made fairly comprehensive studies of the natures of their student bodies, but there has been no study of the population as a whole. Various under- takings have been proposed, to be de- cided upon by the commission. One seeks an extended analysis of the differences between pupils who drop out of school at the various age levels and pupils of equivalent mental ability and out-of-school environment who continue in school. This would include studies of actual school achievement, individual interests and aptitudes, and eventual out-of-school accomplishment. Another objective is an inquiry into the extent of school- ing and the specific school accom- plishment, economic status, vocational employment and recreational, civic and social activities of young people between the ages of 12 and 25 in a number of representative communities. Thus, these things might be studied in a well-to-do residential suburb, foreign sections of some large cities, colored sections in certain Southern cities, small towns and open country. Still another proposal, and one of the most far-reaching of all, calls for & study of the variation of the pop- ulation of the United States between the ages of 16 and 20 in important measurable traits—such as intelli- gence. At present there is a good deal of fable and misinformation about this, The most comprehensive project Italian Salvage Head Off for Africa On Hunt for $100,000,000 Treasure (P)—The who was formerly general manager of the Sorima company, salvagers of for South Africa to supervise & $100,- 000,000 treasure hunt. ‘The company’s ship, Recovery, which The Itallan company immediately wrote the African Salvage Corp., of- fering to take over its concession to salvage the wrecks that lie along South Africa’s coast line. Their num- ber has been authoritatively computed at 300, of which 15 have been located in Table Bay. According to authentic records, the 1935—PART TWO. Our Quagmired Generation |pots American Youth Offers Educational Problem and Future Courses Must Meet Changing Needs. of the kind ever undertaken was the testing of the Army during the World War. This was during the infancy of intelligence measurements. There was the inevitable confusion and lack of standard procedure associated with war time. Some rather direful con- clusions were drawn, placing the ave | erage, intelligence of the American people quite low. A good deal de- pends on the mentality of this quag- mired generation, but nobody has any very adequate idea of what it is. There is also projected a study of the social interests and attitudes of a representative sampling of the young men now enrolled in the C.C.C. camps. One of the most fundamental investigations under consideration is that of the relation, in a representa- tive group of adolescent boys and girls, of intelligence to actual school progress. Still another proposal is for a far-reaching psychological study of the genesis and development of in- tellectual interests. ‘There also is proposed & historical | study of the ways in which important changes in American civilization from the agrarian period to the present have modified the opportunities of youth. One of the most significant of the proposed investigations is an analysis of the characteristics of men and women which make for successful living and of the extent to which | high schools help to develop these characteristics. A half dozen other projected studies are on the program in this fleld of determination of the nature of the material of the genera- tion. The second major heading deals with the development of goals, includ- | ng such projects as an extended an- alysis of the activities of representa- tive “good citizens” and an evaluation of the innovations in the care and education of youth developed in cer- tain European nations. Especial at- tention will be given to the services of the schools in encouraging and mak- ing possible the “goals” found to be most desirable. Schools Under Microscope. Another major heading of the pro- jected research deals with the schools and other child-training themselves. There is proposed a large- scale investigation of the various plans of vocational education now in com- mon use, as a means of gauging the effectiveness of each plan in the de- velopment of specific vocational skills and general vocation ability. There will be a study of what kind of teachers makes the most profound and lasting impressions on their pu- pu;nother study will seek to deter- mine how far the schools contribute to the equipment of pupils for the actual duties of life in the line of emotional control, general conduct, respect for others, self-confidence, power of concentration and the like. Where is American education taking its charges—to successful living or deeper into the quagmire? It is expected that this gigantic re- search program will require at least five years and lay a broad foundation for the future procedure of the Amer- ican educational machine. There is no question, it is pointed out, that exten- sive revisions are necessary. The schools must take account of such fac- tors as the increasing leisure, the growing specialization and meché:l.-- tion of vocational opportunities, the growing interdependence of communi- ties because of better communication and transportation, the growing im- portance of such devices as the radio and motion picture in setting group and individual interests and attitudes, the declining influence of the home and church, especially in urban cen- ters, and the current shifting of moral and ethical standards, with apparent increases in crime and other anti- social practices. Attendance Ratio Low. In many directions, it is pointed out, the situation is critical. One out of every three in the high school age group is not in school. There are nearly 3,000,000 young people in farming areas for whom there seems to be very slight opportunity. Nor- mally they would migrate to the cities. The cities don't want them and have no place for them. There is less and less work on the farms. Almost 50 per cent of the thousands of vagrants moving aimlessly from city to city are youths under 25. The largest number of arrests are of boys under 19. There are no social agencies equipped to provide adequate super- agencies | LATIN AMER ICANS GLAD R DIPLOMACY ‘GONE’ Nicaraguan Incident Regarded as Test of Enlightened Policy—Hindrances Are Recalled. BY GASTON NERVAL. ATIN AMERICANS, who have such sad memories of “dollar diplomacy” and the excesses to which it led in the past, are greatly pleased by President Roosevelt's announcement that “since March 4, 1933, dollar diplomacy is not recognized by the American Government.” ‘The presidential statement was made in connection with the annulment of the huge Ethiopian concession to s subsidiary of the Standard Oil Co., under which Emperor Halle Selassie gave United States interests the privilege of exploration and exploita- tion in half of his kingdom. The man- ner in which the annulment was brought about by the State Department, alarmed at the serious consequences which might have resulted from an Italian invasion of Ethiopia, was in itself a demonstration of the truth of the President’s declaration. As soon as the news of the conces- sion reached Washington Secretary of State Cordell Hull emphatically stated that the present administration could not “oversee business invest- ments of Americans abroad” or “follow every American wherever he went through the world seeking business in- terests, or see what he was doing and give him advice.” The contrast be- tween this position and the one so consistently followed by previous ad- ministrations, particularly with regard to Latin America, was self-evident. It was, precisely, because the United States insisted on overseeing and sup- porting the business interests of its citizens in some of the Caribbean re- publics that most of the hegemonic actions and armed interventions of this country in Latin America took place. Theory of Coolidge. Only a few years before, President | Coolidge had proclaimed his theory of “unlimited protection” clalming that “the person and property of a citi- zen are a part of the general domain of the Nation, even when abroad,” and that the duty of the United States Government to protect the persons and the property of its citizens must follow them, wherever they may go. Instead, Secretary Hull was now as- serting that the Government must keep aloof from such matters, and | could become interested only when unequal protection of the law or other unfair treatment was given to Amer- ican business interests in distinction to other foreign business men—a post- tion much more in accord with the :tlbluhzd canons of international W, ‘The State Department, however, did | not content itself with this explicit | disavowal of any responsibility as to the fate of the announced concession. It summoned the representatives of the company affected, the Standard Vacuum, and told them “that the granting of this concession had been the cause of great embarrassment not (Continued From Pirst Page.) newfangled schemes for “social better- ment” and “rural rehabilitation.” If the project costs only half what it promises to cost and if 100 families | remain, they will have to be carried on | man-sized grubstake in any country. Then there is the overhead of this affairs are to be administered by the A. R. R. C. (Alaska Rural Rehabili- tation Corp.). Its directors will serve | without pay, but not its employes, and it will take quite a staff to oper- ate the store, warehouse, power plant, hospital, sales organization, etc. This expense will be deducted from the | profits, if any. Profits, however, are about as yet. | Then there are such expenses as | transportation. Nobody owns a car | and some of the farms are 11 miles out. Mothers must shop and chil- dren must go to school, so Uncle Sam, who does things in a noble way, has a fleet of brand-new, shiny motor | busses ready and raring to go. No Corporation Jobs. “Will the farmers be permitted to | work for the corporation?” I inquired. I was emphatically assured that they would not be permitted to do so. If one got the job of driving a bus or running the Diesel engine at the power house, presumably others would demand jobs equally warm and soft, and no farming would be cone. In an enterprise geared up as this one is, will there be any profits out | of which the corporation can reim- burse itself? The wiseacres shake their heads. With the nearby population where it is, there seems to be little chance of developing any considerable market for vegetables. This season, for in- stance, there was a frost August 15 and last year as early as July 9, so Matanuska is no gardener's paradise. The successful operation of a can- nery calls for skill, experience and executive ability, and whether a con- siderable variety of products, grown in limited quantities, can be processed at a cost to compete with other sources of supply is questionable. Heavy Feed Bill As for daérying, the possibilities in this line seem best of all, but stock has to be fed for 8 months out of every 12, and any farmer will tell you that involves acreage and runs into expense. Consider also that some Alaskans declare they will never patronize the Matanuska enterprise under any cir- cumstanees. One large employer of labor who buys heavily said: “If that colony were to sell its stuff for half what it costs me elsewhere, I'd never spend a dollar with them. I consider it wrong to patronize & group of sub- sidized farmers at the expense of others who are not a burden to their fellows.” With intense feeling he went on: “The whole project is socially and economically unsound, it was con- ceived in ignorance and it has been ludicrously mishandled. It is silly to speculate on whether it will succeed or fall. Who cares? The experiment is significant only as an indication of plan. There has been a great deal of scattered research, both in America and Europe, but much of it is vague and contradictory. There is no ade- quate picture of conditions, to say nothing of an adequate means of deal- the books at $25,000 each. That's a | undertaking. The community and its | something which nobody worries | only to this Government, but to other governments who are making strenue ous and sincere efforts for the presere vation of peace.” And, finally, Secree tary Hull informed the concessionaire “of the v¥w of this Government that it was nigluy desirable that the neces- sary stegs should be taken at the earliest possible moment to terminate the present concession.” Needless to say, the deal was called off immedi~ ately. Significant as is the change involved in this repudiation of dollar diplo~ macy, it is really only the culmina- tion of a series of recent and healthy developments in the policy of the United States with respect to the pro- tection of its citizens and their prop- erty abroad. Ni Incident. One of the first evidences of this change, and the first formal de- tion” pledged by Coolidge, was Secre- ° tary Stimson’s communique warning citizens of the United States threat- . ened by the renewal of rebellious activities in Nicaragua to withdraw from that country if they did not feel secure under the protection af- forded them by the Nicaraguan au- thorities, because the United States would not protect them or their prop- erties with armed forces, as in the past. Secretary Stimson observed the same attitude as to the citizens of the United States menaced by the Sino- Japanese conflict in the Far East. Later on, in President Roosevelt's inaugural promise of a “good neigh- bor” policy in foreign affairs, Latin Americans had another indication of the desire of the Washington Gov- ernment to cease being the tool of private business interests abroad. In further official pronouncements, both from President Roosevelt and Secretary Hull, the same intention appeared clearly in evidence, to re- pudiate the methods of yesterday and to respect the sovereignty of smaller countries where United States private interests may wish to use to their advantage the influence and power | of their Government. The Wilson dinner address of President Roosevelt and Secretary Hull's pledges at the Seventh Pan-American Conference at Montevideo definitely committed the United States to a policy opposed i to economic imperialism and the pro- | tection of private interests with the | national armed forces. | The significance of the Ethiopian | affair les, then, in the fact that it | served as a test for this new and enlightened policy of the United | States. The annulment of the Stand- |ard Vacuum concession, even though | not entirely unexpected, is particu- ‘hrly important to Latin Americans | because it confirms the belief and | encourages the hope that “dollar | diplomacy,” one of the greatest hin- | drances to pan-Americanism, may be | gone forever. (Copyright. 1935.) Alaska Doubts Uncle Sam the popular trend, and as an example of the waste, the futility of socialistic theories. In that regard it is im- portant. Personally, I don't believe the Government has any legal right to select one group of umfortunates and shower upon them benefits which it denies to others equally deserving.” Alaska as a whole would like to see the colonists establish themselves, but its opinion of Government wisdom and its respect for Government-sponsored relief measures have fallen pretty low. It thinks Uncle Sam has made an ass of himself. Perhaps he has, but one thing sure, the Matanuska pioneers are sitting pretty. They are safely provided fer amid pleasant surroundings and they have nothing to worry about. For those who are willing to work there should be a good living, and for those who don’t care much for exercise, a | benevolent Government has provided & meal ticket which will probably last until the children grow up. (Copyright. 1935. by the North American Newspaper Alliance, Inc.) Ancient Superstitions Face Attack in China CHUNKING, Szechuan, China (#).— Anclent superstitions which have thrived unmolested in West China are to be the subject of a new attack from the national government’s movement for social reconstruction. ‘The announcement, curiously enough, coincided with the birthday of Bude dha, which is the occasion for many of these superstitious practices. Gov- ernment spokesmen announce that they will pay particular attention to practices which have an ulterior or profit-making motive, The Yangtze River here on Bud- dha's birthday was literally alive with floating turtles, which pious Buddhists had released after buying them at good prices. The Buddhists believe that to “release life” in this existence will forestall reincarnation in after life as a pig or a dog. Chinese youngsters, mostly sons of ferrymen, go out on the river in boats and collect the released turtles, those which have been given their freedom in the morning often appearing for sale again in the evening. Funeral superstitions in China re- quire millions of dollars monthly for their maintenance. Critics allege that the undertaking business in China has become a “racket.” It is the general practice at funerals to burn paper money, paper houses and even paper servants so that the departed will be assured of all the comforts of his earthly home when he reaches the next world. Neglect of these prac- tices is believed to bring suffering in the after life. One of the first steps In the new reform program will be the compul- sory abolition of New Year guardians, gods, demous and protecting angels, whose pictures are pasted on the doors of most Chinese houses at the New Year. They will be replaced by portraits of China’s national heroes. French Mineral W;uer Exports Lead World PARIS.—France is the world's great- est exporter of mineral water. Official figures, just made public, indicate that wine is not the only beverage which France exports. For the past 10 years she has exported per annum an aver- age of 50,000,000 bottles of mineral water, slightly more than 6 per cent parture from the “unlimited protece 1+ *