Evening Star Newspaper, July 5, 1936, Page 27

STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., JULY 1936—PART T NEW MEXICAN HIGHWAY PROMOTES TRADE, AMITY First Completed Section of Great Pan- American Link Is Symbol of New Relationships. BY GASTON NERVAL. Hitler’s Drive. for Colonies Would Return of One-Time Empire Ease Woes and Make Friends of One-Time Enemies? Friction Between Craft and Industrial Unionists First Flared in Economic Era After Civil War. There has been nmo apparent | unions, the Knights of Labor included, intensive work, the report submitted lessening of the friction between |met at Pittsburgh in November, 1881, the craft and industrial unionists. |ta effect a new federation. The crafts- The craft-controlled _cTecutive | men controlled the convention and the council of the American Federation | articles of organization listed the new i shington next | group as the Federation of Organized o oot meeta in Mot | Trades Unions of the United States and Canada. The use of the phrase “trades un- ions” aroused the Knights and the | newly-formed Association of Amalga- mated Iron and Steel Workers. Their | protest and threats to withdraw | brought a compromise, and the name was changed to the Federation .of Organized Trades and Labor Unions. One of the foremost leaders in the new federation was Samuel Gompers, | who came to the front in the reorgan- | ization of the International Cigar Makers Union. His own local, No. 144 in New York. was a model of a union | for skilled workers. Under Gompers’ leadership, the Federation ¢alled a general Nation- wide strike on May Day, 1886. Knights’ Leader Holds Out. Principally because of the personal differences. Grand Master Workman Terrence V. Powderly, leader of the Wednesday and is expected to act upon the refusal of the mduslrgal unionists to disband their Commit- tee on Industrial Organization. The origins and forces in this dispute are delineated in the following As- sociated Press article. BY RICHARD H. HIPPELHEUSER. Y THE very nature of early America's economic life, the first labor unions were organ- ized on craft lines. There was no perennial class of unskilled labcr. Young men, when they first went to work, were appren- ticed to a cord-wainer, a carpenter, a printer or a baker. Even in industries workers were skilled. It was not until the great Industrial development during and following the Civil War that mass production brought unskilled labor into being as a factor in the American labor movement. Knights, urged his followers not to €arlier this year Herr Hitler included | for colonial settiement. BY LORD STRABOLGIL EFORE this year is out, the | | B world will hear much of the | | German demand for colonies. | It will be remembered that | Drawn for The Sunday Star by F. Strothmann. better sanitary conditions and free- [little more than one-fifth comes from | MR Of different countries and of dif- tegic importance to Japan that s\e is understood to have already pre- pared them as military bases, they are of little importance as sources of supply of raw material or as territories The most German Pa- a century the rush into the eight-hour movement, '8mong hxs» peace pmp_osals a demand 1r_nportunl of the former nn’lx\:hu,;ar]:rr mp;);;::‘ar‘:“ one of or- and took no participatin in the May for “colonial equality” for the Reich. | cific islands, Nauru, a valuable source ganization, of building labor unions on a national basis. In this development there were four principal successions: 1. THE NATIONAL TRADES UNION. ‘The first major step in the national- fzation of unions came with the or- ganization of central trades councils in the Eastern commercial-industrial centers, first in New York. In the early 1830s there were around 30,000 craftsmen organized in these centers, with 12,000 or so in New York an¢ Brooklyn. In September, 1832, under the Jeadership of the carpenters and printers, the General Trades Union of New York was organized, followed quickly with similar action in other cities. This brought im for a national federation. The Gen- eral Trades Union of New York, in March of 1833, issued a call for a national convention of all unions and, at this convention, held in New York in July, the National Trades Union was organized. The subsequent growth of union membership was swift. By the time of the third convention of the Na- tional Trades Union, in 1836. some 800,000 craftsmen were organized in the East. Then came the panic of 1837 and the National Trades Union collapsed. Day strike. However, thousands of knights par- ticipated. As a result of Powderl: Whether this means that Germany demands mandates over her own for- of supply of phosphates, is under a joint mandate to the governments s mer colonies, or certain of them: or | of Great Britain, Australia and New action, the knights' leadership was | Whether she demands their return in Zealand. | placed in unfavorable light and. full sovereignty: or whether she re- | ‘The French are known to be opposed coupled with the increasing strength ' Quires certain colonial territories now to the return of Germany's former of the new federation, contributed held by other nations and which were | colonies, and the Belgians also. greatly to the collapse of the order. In December of '86, the federation reorganized itself as the American not previously ini German possession, is not clear. But what is clear is that this de- My own view is that a setticment will be reached and that Germany will probably get back Tanganyika terri- | Federation of Labor, with the crafts- | mand for colonies is regarded by the tory fiom Britain, the Cameroons from men still firmly in control of the Germans as a matter of prestige. The | France and probably Western Samoa | overpopulated and with ample sup- German peoples are being told that so from New Zealand, but in each case plies of nearly all the principal raw movement. The efforts of the knights in behalf 10ng as the treaty of Versailles re- [under League mandate. of the unskilled, however, had left a mains, this former colony-owning The mandate system has these ad- comparatively small but strong in- POWer is stigmatized as being unfit to | vantages from the world point of view: | dustrial unionist movement, which have dominion over backward or prim- | The principle of the open door—that is | the leaders of the American Federa- itive races, and is, therefore, morally, | to say, equal opportunities to the trad- tion had to recognize. | The knights’ organization was based organized into one assembly, boot and shoe workers into another, and so forth. One of the strongest of these was the coal mining assembly. In 1890, this emerged into the United Mine Workers of America and was affiliated with the A. F. of L. There were similar reorganizations of former knights' assemblies, which came to form the industrial unionist wing of the federation. While the federation gave recog- nition and membership to these new unions, it held to craft lines where they existed. The new unions were on a lower plane than Britain, France, Belgium, Portugal, Holland, Japan and mediate agitation | 07 8ssembly groups, with coal miners the United States of America. This demand is not new. Bitter protests were made when Germany was deprived of her colonial empire at the time of the drafting of the | Versailles treaty. Moreover, German | dissatisfaction with her comparatively small colonial empire was one of the causes of European unrest prior to the outbreak of the World War. An at- tempt was made by the late Sir Ed- ward Grey, as British foreign secre- | tary at that time, to placate the Kaiser | and his ministers by offering them the | reversion of the Portuguese colonies in Africa—an astounding proposal which deservedly failed to avert the JI. THE NATIONAL LABOR UNION. | not allowed to enter into any fields catastrophe of war. But that offer After this panic, the emphasis in where the craft unions previously had | will be remembered in Germany in tabor circles was placed upon educa- tion. Gradually, union strength again increased, but the panic of 1857 decades, this dispute has continued 'demands for “compensations” tod: brought another setback. jurisdiction. On down through the last four within the federation. The United due course—which is an argument against opening the door to precise | The German government possesses The Civil War industrial develop- | Mine Workers, of which John L. a wonderful propaganda machine for ment had as its corollary the revivi- | Lewis is president. has been in the |the education of its.own people; it is cation of the unions, giving to labor | leadership of the industrial unionist manipulated by the redoubtable Dr. its next major opportunity ai build- | movement since its affiliation with the Goebbels. As long ago as January 17, ing a federation In 1866. unionists from 13 States and the District of Columbia convened federation Industrialists Gained. The industrialists gained strength 1931, Herr Goebbels, in a speech to the Berlin branch of the National Socialist party, staked out this co- in Baltimore and organized the Na- steadily with the organization of such | lonial claim, described it as a just de- tional Trade Union. unions as the United Textile Workers, | mand which could not and must not | In its short existence, this was little the Amalgamated Clothing Workers, | be refused, and ended with the warn- more than a congress for co-ordi- | the International Ladies’ Garment |ing that “it is dangerous for the world nated agitation and exchange of | Workers and International Union of not to concede such demands, because ers of all nations—is preserved, and the mandatory power is forbidden to establish naval or military bases or to conscript or recruit the native popula- tion as soldiers. The whole subject has been compli- cated by Italy's occupation of Abys- sinia and her declaration of sover- eignty. This was done in defiance of the League of Nations and of most of the civilized opinion of the world. If Italy is left in possession of the spoils it will be even more difficult to refuse Germany's demands if these latter are made in a formal legal manner. The South African dominion will be particularly insistent that no native armies shall be raised on the continent of Africa south of the Equator. The South Africans object to the Negroes being armed in any case, for easily understandable reasons; and they fear, furthermore, that large Negro armies under European officers might one day be a menace to their own territorial security. Moral Equality Demand. Apart from this question of prestige and demand for moral equality, let us examine the other German arguments | for the possession of colonies. It is said, in the first place, that Germany is overcrowded and cramped and de- sires territory for the settlement of her surplus population. There is not much room for close European settlement in any of the territories under discussion. | dom from wars and fighting. There are openings for plantations, but these would employ only a mipority of Ger- | mans, and they would Tequire capital |in their operation. In the whole of the German colo- | nies before the Great War there were |only 19,682 Germans settled, despite jevery sort of encouragement by the | government in Berlin. | A vast colonial empire does not in itself necessarily solve the unemploy- ment problem. In Britain we have a very difficult labor situation, | nearty 2,000,000 people out of work; | yet we have the greatest colonial em- | pire in the world. The United States "has a vast and wealthy territory, not | materials needed by modern industry; yet it suffers from a serious unemploy- ment problem. The second main argument is that Germany needs access to raw ma- terials and especially that it is neces- sary for her to be able to pay for these with her own currency. There is a glut | in most of the principal raw materials at the present time and the producers | are only too anxious to sell them for | German or any other currency. But it |is also a fact that colonial production | does not represent the bulk of the in- dustrial raw materials in the world, | with the exception of rubber, palm oil |and copra. | The following paragraphs give the | percentage of colonial production of | the four main classes of industrial raw | materials. It will be seen that in sev- ‘ernl of the most important less than | half are produced in the colonies of all the world as compared with the total world production: Metals: Tin. 56.9 per cent colonial; copper, 21.3; tungsten ore, 15.6; manganese ore, 13.7, bauxite, 13.1; chrome ore, 123 Non-metallic minerals: Phosphates, 52.0; graphite, 46.0 Rubber and textile materials Rubber, 96.1. Vegetable oils: Palm oil, 98.8; copra, 64.4: ground- | nuts, 28.5; olive oil, 12.9; soya, 11.4 | Dr. Goebbels states that “the basic materials of modern industrialization | are coal, iron, oil, cotton, rubber and | copper.” | In the case of the first four. only 4 with | views. Principally, it gave national cohesion in the campaign for the eight-hour day. Finally, it gave more | of dtrength in voting between the | attention to legislative and political action, rather than to trade union action. Fhis incensed the pure trade union- | Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers. At the 1935 convention, the division craft and industrial unionists aver- aged 18 to 10, with the craftsmen still controlling. Claiming the federation had not ists. After their withdrawal, top- eXercised its full efforts in organizing heavy with political reformists, the | the mass production and unskilled National Labor Union disintegrated laborers, the Lewis faction, after the around 1870. 1935 convention, organized the Com- mittee on Industrial Organization. R. fimnffipfif gxfirgsébxfi:?gmm, { ml“ full membership, in addition to tnstead of political activity, the iabor | ooy Pamed above, includes the oil field, gas well and refinery workers, leaders who had beexr; _vmm;i?;u:: | cap and millinery workers, the Inter- the National Labor Union c | national Typographical Union and the their efforts. Again, however, came g, ojp s “Gorkers an era of hard times in the industrial | s Mass lndusslry 1s Target. world. The panic of 1873 t(;rced:_ The ultimate goal of the industrial | many unions into only a2 nominal "‘}; unionists would be workers’ organiza- istence. Secret labor 5?'3‘“‘“}'1 SUCh | tion by industries, instead of by crats, | as the “Molly Maguires” in the 0- | y;q004 of haying numerons craft | :l;lncm flelds, were organized gener- | ,nine in one industry, all workers | y. /in one industry would be Another was the Noble Order of jnio’oneynion™ % e the Knights of Labor. | At the outset, the Committee on | Formed in 1869 under the leader- | 1nqysyria) Organization announced fli ship of Uriah Smith Stephens, an |youg concentrate on such mass pro- intelllectual who prepared for the | ductions ministry but became a tailor in Phila- industries as automobiles, | 1. | rubber workers and others. | delphia, its influence spread swifly | 1es” efforts quickly brought action | after the 1873 panic. For more than | from the Executive Council of the | s decade, it was the most powerful, | federation. An ultimatum was issued. | militant factor in the labor field. | ordering the C. I O. to cease and | The "Knights of Labor, strictly | disband. It was ignored. | speaking, was not a federation; but it Instead, the C. I. O. unions entered was the rallying force of the unionists | into negotiations with the long-dor- in day of difficulties. | mant Amalgamated Association of Iron, | IV. THE AMERICAN FEDERA- Steel and Tin Workers. The Executiv TION OF LABOR. Council of the federation was ignored: ‘There were several contributing fac- | the association and the C. I. O. entered tors in the dwindling away of the | into an agreement whereby the C. I. O Knights of Labor, which reached its | will lend its aid in the forthcoming peak membership of 700,000 in 1886. | campaign to organize the steel in- At this time, the principal issue was | dustry. still political action versus trade| For Executive unionism. The cause of political | Council to withdraw its ultimatum action had been furthered by the | would be to back down. If it holds to | spread of Marxism and the formation | the ultimatum, suspensions might well of the Socialist-Labor party. The | follow. This is the decision facing the Socialist-Laborites, with the rise to | Executive Council at its session next power of Daniel de Leon, believed the | week. union and the political party should | The consequences of suspension be one and the same thing. cannot be minimized. If both groups The established trade unionists, | hold to their present course, a new | mindful of the disintegration of the | federation composed of industrial national trade union, were vigorously | unions is a possibility. opposed to political action, whether _ as advocated by the Marxists or by political reformists. They adhered to the federation’s French Government some day the bomb wiil explode.” Demand Is Reiterated. That was more than five vears ago. and ever since then leading Naz statesmen have at intervals reiterated the demand, though it has never been defined in precise terms. It is, how- ever. known that in recent months the British government has begun to re- gard this demand. or grievance, with | more friendly eyes. It is stated on apparently good authority that pro- visional assurances have been given by Whitehall to the German foreign of- fice that at any general conference for the settlement of outstanding difficul- ties such a demand from Germany's side would be sympathetically re- | ceived. This knowledge has already aroused a storm in British political circles. A strong and active section of the | Conservative party is bitterly opposed | to the return to the Reich of any | former German territory now held | under British mandate. Their atti- | tude is the old imperialistic one. They | are principally exercised over the | Tanganyika, where a good deal of | British capital has been invested. | Also, a section of the other two WI litical perties in Britain, Liberal and Labor, is opposed to any such policy, which is described as attempting to buy off the wolf with gifts, and is | German Fascism. | Certain of the governments of the | cerned, but so far only one has come | west Africa. The South Africans| have declared themselves utterly op- | posed to Southwest Africa being taken away from their jurisdiction. Nevertheless, there is a growing movement in Britain which would be disposed to meet German demands in this respect, especially if it is part of a general settlement. Here is & grievance, real or imaginary, which is certainly genuinely felt in Ger- many, and bad trade, unemployment | and economic difficulties will always be explained as being due to the closing of colonial markets to Ger- man products and the difficulty of They are thickly populated by the in- “ per cent of the world's supplies come digenous inhabitants and these are in- | from colonial areas. As the above fig- creasing in large numbers, owing to | ures show, in the case of copper, only a EUROPE SEEN POWERLESS | of | policy are in no doubt. & strict policy of non-partisanship in politics. While the Knights of Labor was apart from the Socialist-Labor party, the old unions likewise looked askance at the continued activity of the Knights in direct politics. Beginning of Dispute. But more important than this, as concerns the distrust of the Knights by the union leaders, was the mili- tancy of the Knights in organizing the unskilled workers. Here was the inception of the dis- pute over methods of organization which has created bitterness in the labor movement for four decades. ‘This difference split the labor move- ment then, just as it threatens to do today. The rise of industry to supremacy over agriculture in the Nation's eco- nomic life completely changed the complexion of labor. Masses of unskilled workers, in the years following the war between the States, found few unions open to them. The craftsmen jealously guarded their position, and the doors of mem- bership were not easily opened. ‘Thus, thousands of unskilled joined the Knights of Labor. ‘The attitude of the oldline unionists was clearly evidenced in the next ef~ fart to band together. All of the ) Is Not Socialistic PARIS.—The position is taken here that much confusion would be avoided if people, both in France and abroad, would remember that the present cab- inet, headed by the Socialist chief, Leon Blum, is not a Socialist govern- ment and does not propose to intro- duce revolutionary reforms. It is only because the Socialists man- aged to elect more Deputies than the Radicals that they were called upon to organize the cabinet, but the So- cialist party neither has a majority in the Chamber itself, nor could it mus- ter a majority with the aid of the Communists. The majority consists essentially of an alliance of three parties—Socialists, Radicals and Com- munists — which together comprise what is known as the front populaire, or people’s front. These three rparties—which were joined by a few scattered groups be- longing to the Left, notably the Socialist Union, headed by Paul Bon- cour—got together before the recent elections and decided upon & common program, pledging themselves, in the event of victory, to execute that pro- gram and no other. It i¥ not a Marx- ist program, but might be called an advanced Iiberal program, (Copyright, 1836.) purchasing colonial raw materials until the matter is settled in Ger- many's favor. America Directly Concerned. As a party to the original arrange- ment under which the former German colonies” were mandated to Britain, France, Belgium, Japan and certain of the British dominions, America is directly concerned. Furthermore, the German Pacific islands north of the Equator are now under Japanese mandate. The attitude of the Jap-.| anese government is not known. One of two things might happen: Tokio, foreseeing a war with Russia and desiring Germany as an ally, in the west, might offer these former Ger- man ,islands back to Germany as part of the terms of such an alliance, or Japan might refuse to make any concessions at all, A good deal of pressure would have to be brought on the Japanese to get them to agree to all Germany's colonies being put under direct League of Nations administration, as they value their former German islands in the Pacific for strategical reasons, and this, again, must di- rectly affect the United States of America. It should be noticed in passing that although these islands, now under Japanese mandate, are of such stra- TO BLOCK CHINA’S FALL Growing Menace in Asia to Tense Europe Through Japan’s Actions Cited by Editor. BY A. G. GARDINER, England’'s Greatest Liberal Editor. ONDON.—Europe, according to ‘Winston Churchill, is in a more desperate situation than it was in the Summer of 1914. That is a diagnosis that requires some qualification, but, making every discount, it is so far from extrava- | former East Africa, now known as|8ance as to be a tenable statement of the case. There is one respect in- deed in which the outlook is more perplexing and ominous than it was in 1914, especially from the British point of view. Then the menace was tolerably clear, defined and calculable and, above all, there were no extra- | based partly on general hostility to European complications. That is not the case now. Europe is a hell's broth of confused motives, ® | British dominions are directly con- |2nd, far beyond Europe, there is the vast shadow that is spreading over | Little is sald about it |out into the open—that of South |Eastern Asia. ] . | Africa, which holds a mandate over ‘ln the pmsilbut neither the guvem; | the former German colony of South- ment nor the public is unaware of the vast significance of what is hap- pening, the bearing it has upon the European situation and the magnitude the British interests that are threatened. There are no illusions here about Japan. Like Mussolini in Italy, she permits us to have no illusions. She, with Italy, and, it is to be feared, the resurrected Germany, stands for power politics and the divine right of the sword. Cites Japan's Attitude. The economic consequences of that Japan's bland asturance of her strictly honorable intentions in China have no relation to her acts. She swallows those as- surances with the same placid calm with which she accepts the assas- dination by the military of the cream of her elder statesmen, who have been indiscrete enough to think that Japan should observe some of elementary canventions of a civilized world. She stands for the open door in Man- churia, but, as the Times observes, it is the open door through which “she has already, with impunity, kicked foreign interests.” Her invasion of China proper is designed with the most disinterested concern, for the welfare of that country and respect for the rights of other countries, but it has resulted in the paralysis of the maritime cus- toms service in Eastern Hopei, on which the revenues of China and the interest on her foreign loans depend. That service has been shattered by smuggling on a scale never before seen in the world, smuggling so openly: conducted, so frankly safeguarded by Japanese bayonets directed against the cusoms officers, who have thoughtfully disarmed, that it may be said to be a part of Japan's pa- ternal administration of her new territory. It is a most eficient ad- ministration. It not only short- circuits the customs in Eastern [} Hopei. It enables the smuggled goods to compete in the markets of Shanghai and Southern China with the goods that have paid duty at other ports. Thus it kills two birds, | 88 it were, with one stone. Survey by Sir Frederick. All this and much more is hap- ianship which Japan has set up, first in Manchuria .and now in North China, and the blessings of which we | may confidently anticipate she hopes to extend farther south. It is because of these circumstances that Sir Frederick Leith-Ross, one of the most eminent authorities of the British treasury, has spent seven months making a sur- vey of the financial and economic con- | ditions of China. It had been hoped Japan would appoint experts to col- laborate with him, but this was not found possible and his report contains therefore only the results of his own investigatibns. It is discreet, carefully avoids political considerations and | concerns itself only with what China is doing for herself. The general tenor of the document is that China is learning to walk alone, ganization and that, except in 2 mili- tary sense, she is quite capable of put- allowed to. The currency problems have been handled boldly and suc- cessfully by the central government, which is replacing silver by an in- convertible managed currency. Diffi- culties there are, mainly political, and the withdrawal of silver is one cause of the recent breach between the central government and Canton. But Sir Frederick has no doubt of the soundness and growing success of the policy. Criticizes Tariff Increase. Moreover, “exports are expanding and the adverse balance of trade has been greatly reduced.” The chief crit- icism which Sir Frederick makes is in regard to the recent raising of tariff rates. These brotect the Chinese in- dustrialist at the expense of the Chinese farmer, who represents three- quarters of the population. And Sir Frederick points out that the measure of China’s prosperity must always be the purchasing power of this numer- ically dominant class. Apart from this, the outlook of China, left to go her own way, is most reassuring. But will she be left? Will the com- mercial prospects opened up by a mere enlightened regime be realized by Europe and the outside world? Under the ambitious policy of Japan, difficul- ties have increased and will increase. Europe has steadily lost ground and fails to produce any policy that will check the tendency. And what is happening in the North may well be a foretaste of what will be the ex- perience of Chins as s whole. (Copyright, 1036.) A pening under the disinterested guard- | that the United States, France and | is making marked strides in her or- | ting her house in order—if she is | colonial territories. Germany has ample coal and iron already and is producing some 40 per cent of her oil requirements, in peace time, from ' her own resources. Furthermore, there | are other important industrial nations | in Europe without colonies—as, for ex- ample, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Aus- tria, Switzerland and Sweden. Indeed, the Poles have already stated that if there is to be any redistribution of colonies they have a claim. Political Boycott. The economic difficulties of Ger- many are, as can be shown quite clearly, not due to lack of colonies at all, but to the exchange restrictions. tariffs and quotas from which the traders of all the world are suffering. In Germany's case, her difficulties are accentuated by the political boycott against her goods organized by the | Jews in many parts of the world. And in addition, Germany has had, as her leaders have admitted, great difficulty recently in purchasing the abnormal amounts of raw materials—certain metals, in particular—needed for her own rearmament. There is an unavowed reason for de- siring an independent control of co- lonial raw materials, and that is the desire to be less dependent on such supplies in case of economic sanctions applied in some future crisis by the League of Nations or a strict interpre- tation of her neutrality laws by the United States. But in peace time there are ample | supplies of raw materials of all kinds. Germany, like other countries, is suf- fering in her export trade. This ex- plains her currency difficulties when it comes to purchasing colonial prod- ucts. More solidly founded is the Ger- man complaint about her lack of as- sured markets. There is certainly a grievance with regard to the results of the Ottawa conference, by which the British Empire has made some progress along the road toward co- Icnial preference. The old traditional British policy of the open door in her crown colonies, as distinct from the self-governing dominions, has been departed from. Although the trading opportunities in these colonies under the most favorable conditions are not so important as to make much diff-er- ence to Germany's economic situation, the grievance does exist There is also & grievance—a justi- fiable one, felt not only by Germany —about present and past schemes for artificially restricting the supplies of tin, rubber, jute and other necessities of manufacture in order to raise prices. This cause of complaint could be re- moved without any transfer of sover- eignty. The rubber restriction scheme broke down under its own weight. Young middle-class Germans are taught to believe that there would be plenty of openings for them in the ad- ministrations, the police and the gar- risons of the colonies if Germany had | any. To meet this particular griev- ance a proposal is now being can- vassed that certain of the present mandates and also certain of the pres- ent colonial possessions of the Euro- | pean powers, should be transferred | directly to the League of Nations and put under the administration of Ge- neva. In that case, the civil and other services would be recruited from all | nationalities impartially. Short-Sighted French Policy. The French for many years have | pursued a short-sighted policy in their | own colonies—they have always tried | to favor their own nationals and to bar | out the traders of other nations. Nor | have the Belgians been without blame. | In the case of the Congo basin there is supposed to be freedom for all: but in practice. as all the local officials are Belgians, the dice are loaded in favor of Belgian merchants and traders. The Portuguese have a bad record in this respect; but the Dutch have pursued a consistent policy of the open door. Statistics and economic facts will not impress the underpaid, poverty- | stricken German workmen and their families, or the jobless middle- class students who are told day in and day out that their troubles are due to the selfishness of the governments of the great colonial empires. Nor will a people that has suffered in the post- war years from the stigma of inferi- ority be placated unless they can re- gain the moral equality which Herr Hitler demands. For these reasons it should be the duty of statesmen to seek a just solu- tion. There is no reason why Britain should make =all the sacrifices. The United States of America is not a colony-owning power in the sense | terest in this question. The economic difficulties of Europe go far deeper than any difficuities about colonies, as I nave shown abcve; but something can be done to restore prosperity along the lines I have indicated. If, at the same time, we can re- move & sentimental grievance that has come to be generally felt, we shali have done something to remove the tension in Europe as reflected in the feverish war preparations and arma- ments races now in progress. Another consideration is likely to actuate British policy in the long run. Can Germgny be changed from a “dissatisfled power” into a satisfled nation, prepared to play her part in the League of Nations in defense of the principle of collective security? There has been a rupture of an an- cient friendship between Britain and Italy. It will not be easily healed, especially as the British feel that the Italians believe themselves to be the victors in a contest over principles. It will now be an object of British policy to prevent an alliance between Germany and Italy. Britain and Prance are Both glutted with colonial territories, mandated and otherwise. If Germany can be made into s 4 O THE Romans, & road was a means to an end. To the statesmen of the New World in the twentieth century, a road is still & means to an end, but the end is different. Under Pax Romana, the end was corquest and subjection of the country where the road was built. Under Pax Ameri- cana, the end is international rap- prochement, bringing together of in- dependent, self-governing peoples for mutual understanding and for mutual benefits. In our times, when economic ne- cessity and cultural progress call irre- sistibly for international contacts, and in our part of the world, where physical distances between nations are s0 great, the construction of M- ternational highways is an essential requirement, if peace and friendship and co-operation are to prevail among ferent points of view. Last Wednesday, with appropriate ceremonies and in the presence of distinguished guests, headed by the | Vice President of the United States | and diplomatic representatives fsom | several countries, President Cardenas of Mexico formally opened the new | international Otty. The significance of the event lies, however, not merely in the opening to trafic of a 770-mile long road, built at & cost of more than 60 miillion highway to Mexico pesos and which will bring Mexico | considerably closer® to the United States, but in the fact that this is the first completed section of that gigantic pan-American highway which has been for so long the dream of all advocates of inter-American friendship. Aim of Conferences. The improvement of means of communication in the Western Hem- isphere has been one of the aims of the international conferences of American states ever since they started, more than 40 years ago. It was at the fifth conference, however, | | which met at Santiago in 1923, that the advisability of studying meas- ures best adapted to “developing an efficient program for the construction of automobile highways within the different countries of America and between these different countries” was formsally recommended to the various governments. The first Pan-American Congress of Highways, which was held in Buenos Aires in 1925. insisted on that recommendation and called for “the rapid and urgent development of continental highways with the great- est possible efficiency.” The Sixth International Conference of Ameri- cen States, meeting at Havana m 1928, pledged the co-operation of the 21 governments there represented to the prompt realization of that project. In March of 1929 the Congress of the United States, by joint resolution, authorized the appropriation of $50,000 to enable the Secretary of State to co-operate with the governments, members of the Pan-American Union, in the reconnaisance surveys and to report to Congress “the feasibility of possible routes, the probable cost, the economic service and such other in- formation as will be pertinent to the building of an inter-American high- ! way or highways.” Found Feasible by U. S. Accordingly, the Bureau of Public Roads of the United States was re- quested by the Secretary of State to make the actual survey in Central America and to prepare a report on the central section of the proposed Pan-American Highway, that is, a distance of about 3250 miles, from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, to Panama City, Panama. After three years of to Congress established that the re- connaissance just completed had “demonstrated that from an engineer- ing standpoint the construction of the inter-Americen highway is en- tirely feasible.” The report emphasized, moreover, that the expenditure of funds nec- essary to carry out the undertaking would give employment to many thou- sands of laborers, then idle, in the countries traversed, put¢ money in circulation, increase purchasing power and raise the standard of living. The most important cities of Mexico, Gua- temala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nic- aragua, Costa Rica and Panama would be in the route of the central section of the pan-American high- way and more than half the popula- tion of the Central American re- publics lived in the provinices to be affected. From an economic angle, the report stressed the advantages to be derived by the countries included in the central section of the highway— one-crop countries, most of them—be- cause of the diversification of agricul- tural production which would ensue. Soon after the completion of that first report, the Congress of the United States appropriated $1.000,000 “to en- able the executive branch of the Gov- ernment to continue to co-operate | with the Latin American countries ;m connection with the survey and lconctrucuon of the proposed inter- | American highway.” The Pan-American Highway, in its entire length, would unite the frozen | regions of the North, across the Cen- tral American tropics, with the tem- perate zones of the South, from the northernmost cities of the United States to the capital of Chile, almost at the extreme south of the continent |on the Pacific Coast. From there, crossing the Andes, it would reach Buenos Aires on the east and then 80 up. along the Atlantic Coast, passe ing through Brazil and Venezuela, to the Gulf of Mexico. Influence Extended. In this great circuit the highway | would not only bring together the cap- lital.s of the American republics, but would extend its influence to the les- ser cities and communities in each country traversed by it. Hence, aside from contributing to a better knowl- edge, and, therefore, a better under- standing of one people by another, it would promote international trade and tourist traffic, and generally strengthen the economic ties instrumental in the preservation of that understanding. In the internal development of each one of the Latin American countries it would be of incalculable benefit, fur- nishing means of transportatijpn for their natural products and making accessible regions which are now ex- isting in isclation. The advantages for the United States are even more apparent. Apart from the tremendous trade opportunities involved, the con- struction itself of the highway would require thousands of tons of ma- chinery, cement and steel for bridges and other materials produced in the United States and the employment of many engineers and experts from this country. Not to mention the profits for the automobile industry. Some years ago, in the days of armed intervention and the “big stick” there were people in Latin America who had one valid objection to the building of a Pan-American Highway: | the fear that it might foster “Yankee imperialism” and facilitate the south- ward march of “dollar diplomacy.” Today, however, the changed Latin American policies of the United States have removed that fear, and the Mex- icans, last week, were more than pleased to welcome at Nuevo Lareda, {not the “big brother,” but the “good neighbor.” (Copyright. 1935.) Ciano in Post as F oreign Minister | | ROME.—Since Premier Benito Mus- solini named Count Galeazzo Ciano, his son-in-law, as Italy's minister lori foreign affairs, the impression has be- | come general here that Ciano is| | undergoing a final test of his char- | | acter and_abilities and that on the 1 result of this test will depend whether | jor not he is to become Mussolini’s | | successor. | | The Romans are almost certain now | that if Mussolini dies, Ciano will be- | come Italy's Duce barring unforeseen | developments which might change the | dictator’s will. The much-discusses candidacies of Marshal Italo Balbo, | governor of Libya, and Dino Grandi. | | Ambassador to England, appear to | have been pushed into the back- | ground. Choice Ts Popular. Il Duce’s choice of Ciano a: the minister for foreign affairs is gen- erally approved: the Italians are ac- | customed to saying that Mussolini | | knows what he is doing and that, | therefore, his appointments should be | good. Ciano is certainly the youngest | Minister—he is only 33. When the | Fascist movement started in 1919, he was only 16, but his father, Count | Costanzo Ciano, was already then | Mussolini’s supporter. In 1822, at 19, Galeazzo marched on Rome with the | “Black Shirts.” He, therefore, can | undoubtedly be called one of the oldest | | Pascists. When the time came for | Edda. Mussolini’s daughter, to be mar- | ried, Mussolini tock great intersst in | the question. Believed on Way to Succeed Il Duce Galeazzo is Mussolini’s son-in-law, he will have to pass a severe test before 11 Duce makes his final decision about his fitness to take his succession. If Ciano fails to steer skilifully Italy's ship on international waters in the coming important weeks of negotia~ tions, Mussolini’s judgment will be ime placable. II Duce places Italy’s wels fare high above family affairs and Ciano will have to live up to the diffi- cult mission which may await him. His past career in diplomatic fields pleased Il Duce. His future will de- pend on the hard test to which he hes been called now. . Pay Saving Is Feared As Chinese Trickery NANKING (#)—Civil employes of the Chinese government are to be compelled to salt eway part of each month’s pay check fer the rainy days that may be ahead. Coming oa top of compulsory con- tributions to flood rellef, and general salar hes, long suffering ecivil servents are greeting the enforced sav scheme with audible groans. and whispered suspicions that this is but another scheme to provide ready cash for the government's official spenders. From 2 to 10 per cent of all szlarics m £C into the thrift account of the Cent:al Trust Bureau. The interest It Is known tiat Edda has her|rate is fixed at the discretion of the the dictator back. She is believed to have great influence with her father, who is extremely fond of her. When Galeazzo became Edda’s suitor, Mus- solini watched him closely and soon approved of him as his son-in-law. Impressions Favorable. His impressions of Ciano apparently have been good since that time, as he has now intrusted him with the moat important post in his cabinet. Those who know young Ciano closely speak very highly of his courage, his straight- forwardness, his generosity and his quick intelligence. ~Whether these qualities are sufficient to make of him an able diplomatist and the future Duce of the Italian people, time alone can tell. One thing seems certain. friend ard the old feud with France ended, a high price could be paid. And then a reunited Europe could face a greater peril still of the fu- ture—the advance of Japan as an aggressive imperialistic power, threat- ening the peace of the world. In this direction the interests of the United States of America are directly in- volved, b ] Even if | that Britain, France, Belgium, Japan | father's character; she is extremely in- | bureau, which, incidentally is respon- and Holland are; therefore her mer- | telligent, proud and willful, and is the | sible for arranging China’s purchaces chants and traders also have an in- | only person in Italy who can answer | abroad of airplanes, tanks and other | engines of war. Days Are Being Saved On European Air Routes LONDON.—-Flying by express air- liner, busincss men and tourists can now breakfast in London, have lunch in Leipzig and sit down to dinner in Budapest. Fliing to Paris and back in a day, you can have six clear | hours in the French capital; while a journey, say to Vienna, is reduced | from 27 hours by surface travel to 8 hours 50 minutes by air. On the main empire routes, by using air travel instead of surface | travel, passengers save 4 days on a journey to Baghdad. 6 days to Khar- toum, 8 days tc Cape Town, 9 days to Delhi, and going a step further, one can make Singapore with a saving of | 14 days, and 15 days to Batavia. while a flight right through England to Brisbane, Australia, ic aceom- plished in 1214 days by air, as com- pared with 32 days by surface trans- portation.