Evening star. [volume], July 26, 1931, Image 17

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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Editorial Page
Part 2—B Pages
DEBT HOLIDAY IS HELD
BUT MERE PALLIATIVE
Pause Between Crisis and Catastrophe
Is French View—Political Agreements
Necessary to Saving Germany.
BY CONSTANTINE BROWN.
THERE is a story that the day the
news reached Washington that
the French had accepted the
Hoover intergovernmental debt
holiday William Castle, Acting
Secretary of State; Ogden Mills, Act
ing Secretary of the Treasury, and Dr.
Fa is, the economic adviser of the State
Department, went to call on the French
Ambassador to congratulate him for
the wise step France had decided to
take.
Mr. Claudel, affable as ever, shook
hands effusively and ordered the butler
to bring a bottle of champagne to cel
ebrate the happy event. The four men
raised their glasses and the French,
Ambassador said, "Let's drink to the
pause between a crisis and a catastro
phe.”
Since I have not been a witness to
- this meeting, I cannot absolutely vouch
for the story, but it does, without doubt,
represent exactly what the French are
thinking about both plans of the
Ih’esident. The intergovernmental holi
day and the extension of the short
term credits to Germany are consid
ered by the French and by many others
as mere palliatives. They will give sat
isfactory results if some more than or
dinarily clever men can find a solution
of the difficult F*ranco-German political
j»roi>lem. It will be only a postpone
ment of the catastrophe which might
plunge Germany and some of the other
European states into chaos if a solu
tk*a of the problem is not found within
a short time.
Question of the Hour.
As things stand today, the intergov
ernmental debt holiday has been rele
gated to the second place. The burning
question in Europe at present is, “Can
Germany pull through without a crisis
bv a mere extension of the short-term
credits which she has received in the
course of the last few years?” If she
car.'t. will the other nations help her
out by offering her some new credits?
The reports received during the last
48 hours seem to indicate that the Ger
man nation is disappointed at the result
of the London conference of the seven
representatives of the leading powers of
the world. The Germans seem to have
expected some more concrete results
than those obtained. The frame of
mind of the Germans can be compared
with that of a much harassed chief of
a family whose business has gone bad.
The unruly family, hungry and des
perate. is told by him that he has been
invited by his creditors, to whom he
owed a few thousand dollars, to come
and meet them. The object of the meet
ing is to put him on his feet again.
He goes to meet his creditors, leaving
behind a hungry, but more cheerful,
family. When he returns, the family
plvs him with questions:
“Well, what have you done?” “How
much money have they given you?”
“Will mother have enough to buy food
tomorrow?” The poor man, somewhat
embarrassed, replied: “Well, they have
been very decent to me. They have in
troduced me to all their rich friends,
they gave me a wonderful party, and
they were reaHy generous; they agreed
to extend the payment of the money
2 owe them for another few months.”
“But what about some more cash,
and how are we going to feed ourselves
this and next week? It's all very well
that you enjoyed yourself, but what
•bout ps: are we not going to eat?”
The embarrassment of father becomes
greater when he has to say:
“Well, I don’t know: they told me
that they would like to give me some
more cash, but they really could not
afford it.”
Bruening’s Position.
This fairly represents Chancellor
Bruening's position when he returned
to Germany from London. The differ
ence is that he has not to deal with
• small family. His people are. accord
ing to Berlin dispatches, dissatisfied
and are likely to prove extremely un
guly and unpleasant.
Very few people, even among our own
officials in Washington, believe that the
extension of the old credits will prove
helpful to Germany. It is generally ad
mitted that what Germany needs today
is a new, fairly substantial credit to
meet a difficult psychological situation
in the Reich. The theory of the exten
sion of credits would be all right under
normal circumstances. But the condi
tions in Germany today are pot normal;
the population is exasperated, and the
credit and banking situation is suffer
ing from the lack of confidence within
the country and outside. The German
government may take the most stringent
measures to prevent the flight of capi
tal. It is a little late now, because
most of the money already has been
transferred abroad. The fact that Ger
many need not pay the short-term cred
its will help Germany only moderately,
because it Is very doubtful whether she
could have paid them even if they had
not been extended.
. What Germany Needs.
■What that country needed was a
new supply of actual loans to enable
her to put her house in order. Yet
at the London conference the Ger
man representatives did not ask for
such loans and the other natio:., did
not offer her any. All this seems
somewhat puzzling to those who have
followed the recent developments. The
Situation appears to be as follows:
The Germans before leaving Berlin
were apparently decided to ask for a
loan of $350,000,000. The French, in
their conversations with Secretary
Stimson and Arthur Henderson, the
British foreign secretary, told them
that they thought that the only possible
salvation for Germany was to obtain
a substantial loan. The matter was
discussed by all concerned in Paris
before the representatives of Great
Britain, the United States. France and
Germany left for London. All agreed
that a loan would solve the problem,
but the French insisted on having
guarantees. These guarantees were too
much for Germany and neither the
American nor the British delegates
could ask Germany to accept the
French demands. The French wanted,
not only a complete control of the
German customs, but also certain po
litical renuncistlons, which the Ger
man prime minister could not agree to
make. Had he accepted them he
migbt just as well have remained in
Tra/ice or in Britain; his people would
merer have allowed him to cor .e back.
To accept them would have meant to
reduce the German Republic to the
came status as Turkey had under the
regime of the “Red Sultan,” Abdul
Hamid. Every source of the German
income would have been controlled by
foreigners.
Since this was ruled out, it was
decided that all the representa
tives should go 'to London and
try this short credit extension,
merely as a palliative, and then wait
for developments. Time is a great
healer and some people hope that in
this short respite Germany has ob
tained something may happen to
straighten out the situation between
France and Germany; others hope that
the Germans themselves by some su
perhuman effort may put their house
in order and inspire again the con
fidence cf the foreign investor.
Many people would ask, why, if a
loan could help substantially the Ger
man situation, has not Great Britain
and the United States joined together
and given Germany the three or four
hundred million dollars so badly needed.
After all, this Is not such a tremendous
sum when one thinks that the Ameri
can investors alone have a little over
two and a half billion dollars in Ger
many already. The answer seems to
be that the money market in London
and New York cannot absorb today
a nothcr three - hundred - million - dollar
loan for Germany.
Great Britain’s Position.
The financial situation in Great
| Britain is difficult. The budget is in
| red and the exchequer will probably
be compelled to borrow from the pub
lic in order to make up this year's
deficit. Furthermore, the French are
pressing Great Britain hard. Since
1928, when France started on the up
grade financially, that country has on
the London market Short-term notes
amounting to some six hundred and
fifty million dollars. In the last three
weeks the French, in order to show
what they can do. have started with
drawing almost dally the short-term
credits from London, bringing them
back to France. If one glances over
the financial reports from London one
finds almost every day that another
ten or fifteen million dollars in gold
has been transferred by airplane from
London to Paris. The pound sterling,
which has been like a rock ever since
its stabilization some seven years ago,
has begun to shake and is depreciating
rapidly. The Bank of England was
compelled on Thursday to raise the
rate of discount by 1 per cent, to the
great detriment of British trade and
industry. Consequently, although the
sum required by the Germans appears
modest for a rich nation like Great
Britain, in the present circumstances
it is too large.
The situation in New York is not
much better. There is, of course, a great
deal of liquid money on the New York
market. But our bankers have to keep
in mind the requirements of this and
other countries outside Germany. In
this coming Fall the New York market
may be called upon to provide sums for
the refinancing of the railroads: it keeps
in mind the possibility of assisting in
some wav or other the farmer’s situa
tion, Uncle Sam may also be compelled
to draw on his bankers, and if the gen
eral economic situation does not improve
it is possible that New York may have
to provide money to assist in some
scheme of helping the unemployed this
year. Besides these possible require
ments it is not unlikely that the British
may want to transform the short credits
they still owe France into long-term
credits in America.
South American Situation.
Besides these possibilities there is the
difficult situation of South America,
which though potentially rich is passing
at present through a severe crisis and
our bankers may be compelled to eome
to the rescue of some of the South
American republics, which may not be
in a position this year to pay the in
terest on money borrowed from the
American public. In -addition to these
possible necessities there is a serious
situation in regard to the German mu
nicipal loans. The towns which have bor
rowed large sums in America in recent
years may not be able to pay their in
terest. A suspension of payments of
the interest on those loans may create a
harmful panic among the American
bond holders. To avoid this it is said,
the banks may be compelled to give the
German municipalities sufficient money
to pay the interest due In the course cf
the next few months. Consequently
neither the American nor the British
banks are anxious to pour new money
into Germany, especially when the po
litical situation between France and the
Reich is obscure.
France CouM Lend Aid.
France, of course, is today in a posi
tion to help out Germany financially
without batting an eyelash. France
is comparatively as rich as the United
States. It has more gold than any other
country, with the exception of the
United States, and has less frozen assets
than any other country in the world.
Franze knows her strength, but is not
willing to move unles. she can get a
political bargain which would insure
her a permanent hegemony in Europe.
After a few seeming defeats such as
her failure to prevent the German-Aus
trlan tariff debt holiday, she wants a
spectacular political victory. She has
Germany in the hollow of her hand. At
the London conference this week her
finance minister, Pietri. informed those
present that she was willing, if neces
sary, to take 80 per cent of the $350,-
000.000 Germany needed provided
that * * * and he enumerated the
guarantees Germany would have to give.
The French were told that if Germany
were not immediately assisted ther:-
might be trouble in that country and
that F.ance herself might be infected
should civil war break out in Germany.
France was told that internal trouble
is contagecus and Germany is too close
to France’s border for her to remain
indifferent to what may happen across
the Rhine. The French shrugged their
shoulders and replied: “You all know
what to do if you want our money.”
What could the representatives of the
other nations do except to end the meet
ing with magnificently optimistic
speeches and press communiques and
offer Germany relief by extending the
short-term credits, which she could not
have paid us or anybody else in any
case.
Political Understanding Needed.
Everybody who attended the London
Conference left with the conclusion that
the situation cannot be cleared up un
’css there is a political understanding
between France and Germany. All
those in close contact with the recent
developments realize, although they
may not openly say so, that-in a higher
plane economics and politics meet and
cannot be divorced from each other.
Our public men now realize this and
the administration, through its agents
at present in Europe, is doing its best
to help the two antagonistic European
nations settle their difficulties. But we
can do nothing but give advice and act
as friendly mediators between the two
governments. We cannot encourage
Germany to take decisions which might
prove fatal to its present system of gov
ernment, neither have we the power of
asking France to renounce her political
ambitions, which in the mind of every
good Frenchman mean assuring the se
curity of his coutnry.
The nations of Europe which have
lived next to each other for centuries
and have been fighting each other for
the same length of time cannot be con
vinced that security can be obtained by
friendly intercourse. They still’believe
that their security lies in heavy arma
ments and political alliances of one
group against the other. And what
they have learned from experience dur
ing centuries cannot be unlearned in a
few years.
This administration has shown a
(Continued on FageJ.
EDITORIAL SECTION
gflje fhraflmt J&taf.
Europe’s Greatest Crisis
Twelve Million Unemployed Figure Largely in Social, Economic and Moral Upheaval.
Drawn for The Sunday Star by Devitt Welsh.
WHERE WORLD UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES ARE BEING ASSEMBLED; THE HOME OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS.
BY ALB IN E. JOHNSON.
GENEVA.— Europe today is fac
ing the most serious crisis—
industrially, socially, econom
ically and morally—in her
history. That is a broad
statement, but nevertheless true. Times
have been bad, since the armistice. But
they have never been worse than they
are now, and, with apologies in advance
to the tendency of the times to decry
economic realities and indulge in po
litical Fallyannaism, they are due to be
even worse before they begin to get
definitely better. Next Winter should
see the crisis.
Official reports, collected from govern
mental sources by the economic section
of the League of Nations and the In
ternational Labor Office, on trade,
1 population, employment, finance, etc.,
reveal stark truths of the extent of the
I present depression. Concerning unem
j ployment, for example, the statistics
show that in England, Germany, France,
Italy, Czechoslovakia and Poland re- i
cently there were officially registered
9.1981319 idle workers as compared with
5,705.775 on the same date a year ago.
Counting the workless in the other
countries of Europe the total today is
well above 12.000,000.
It is true that in June there was a
• slight decrease In unemployment over
the May or April figures, but it is sig
nificant that this year’s seasonal fluc
tuations are not nearly so great as in
previous years, so that actually unem
ployment is growing For example.
Britain's official figures show 2,697,422
unemployed, or 21.5 per oent of her
registered workers, this year as com
pared with 1,649,016 or 13 per cent on
the same data April 1, 1930.
SPECULATION SURROUNDS
ACTION OF CURTIS IN 1932
111 Interpretations Can Be Given Can
didacy for Either Vice Presidency
or Kansas Senatorship.
. ...
BY MARK SULLIVAN.
XT THETHER Vice President Cur
\ A / tis will run again next year
\/ \l for his present office —or go
V Y back to run for his old office
of Senator from Kansas — is
the subject of a flood of newspaper
' speculation. One approach to the
question, rather more ingenious than
l real, says the answer must be deter
' mined by an abstruse psychological con
sideration. , i „ _ .
i It is to the effect that Mr. Curtis
■ must run again for Vice President—
- just because his abdication would be in
terpreted by the Democrats as an ex
■ pert judgment on his part that the run
■ ning (for Vice President and President,
as well) on the Republican national
ticket is not going to be very good next
i year.. The Democrats— so this argu
• ment runs—would exploit Mr. Curtis’
> retirement, would say that “Charlie is
leaving a sinking ship.”
Curtis Last to Run.
Incidentally, this argument ignores
1 the sact —of all the human beings in any
1 party whatever, or any organization,
• Charles Curtis is just about the last
’ who would run away in time of ad
; versity. Particularly, and peculiarly
and outstandingly, Curtis is a man who
1 sticks by his crowd. It is something
• fundamental and tribal in his Indian
1 ancestry. If ever the Republican party
• goes down, or any other group that
1 Charlies Cur.tis belongs to. he will be
1 standing with grim Indian pride and
' Stoic defiance till the waves submerge
the last thin hair of his head
Curtis’ political enemies and critics
'■ say much about him —that he is a poli
’ tlcian of politicians: indeed, the grand
; daddy of all the politicians; that he is
1 a hard-boiled regular party man; that
! he regards success of the Republictn
' party as rather more important than
r utopian uplift inspired from academic
sources; that his outlook is parochial;
that he is more interested in post of
fices,than in foreign relations. But no
. enemy of Curtis can justly say. in divers
' political phrases that mean the same
, thing, that he ever “took to the tall
j timber” when the firing got hot, or that
he maintains any private cyclone cellar
‘ I for use when the political gale blows
. strong, or that he “hides out in the
i long grass” when party adversity calls
for extra effort to be made or defeat to
[ be endured.
Between Devil and Sea.
i A precisely contradictory bit of ab
> struseness about Mr. Curtis’ course next
k year aays that if he doesn’t run for
> Senator from Kansas it will mean that
i he doubts whether Kansas is going Re
k publican next year.
In short, these political logicians seem
r bound to catch Charlie one way or the
1 other, either coming or going. They
r think they have the Vice President be
■ tween a psychological devil and a deep
blue sea. If he runs for Vice President
! then he thinks the Republicans are
• going to lose Kansas. If he runs for
’ Senator then he thinks the Republicans
• are going to lose nationally.
’ In the course of a long political life
! many have laid two-way traps for
- Charlie Curtis, but he has held office
‘ almost continuously, and on a rising
k scale, since 1884, excepting two yekrs.
■ about 1889, and excepting the time he
i fell by the wayside as a casualty of the
Republican split and the Progressive
1 party In 1913. Excepting two years.
Curtis has be»‘ • holder , of national
WASHINGTON, D. C., SUNDAY MORNING, JULY 26, 1931.
Take Germany: The year's suspen
sion of war-debt payments may bolster
up the situation psychologically, and
improve it materially if extended to a
cancellation or reduction of Germany’s
war penalties, but only a few weeks ago
the Berlin government was giving re
lief to 3,240,523 workers out of the
4.743,931 officially on the unemployed
lists. Germany's army of idle has
grown from 3,040.797 a year ago to
4,743,951 on the corresponding date of |
this year. Thirty-six per cent of her i
trade unionists are wholly unemployed,'
while 19 per cent more are working only
part time.
Italy's brave front, politically at least,
is shown In another perspective when
Rome's reports are scrutinized. A year ■
ago the Fascists admitted 413, un
employed. This year, on the same date,
there were almost double that number
—793,031 Idle. However, the situation
beyond the Alps is actually much
blacker since the Fascists have a system
whereby unemployment figures are kept
• at a minimum on the records.
Over in Central Europe, in Poland
and Czechoslovakia, for example, the
1 League's resume reveals even more de
pressing facta. Czechoslovakia, the
most highly industrialized of the new
post-war states, finds her unemployed
more than trebled in the year, while
Poland's Idle show marked gains despite
the thousands now being absorbed by
the seasonal demand for farm labor.
France Feeling the Pinch.
France, the one bright spot in Eu
rope, excepting Russia, where there is
supposedly a scarcity of labor, is be
ginning to feel the pinch. Her unem
-1 ployed—those officially receiving gov
I office in Washington since 1891, 16
! years as a member of the House. 20
'! years as Senator and now since 1929
as Vice President. Decidedly. Mr. Cur
' : tix is a man not to be caught by po
“ litical snares, nor to be horned by any
; I political dilemma, nor to fall between
[ two political stools,
i Argument Never Considered.
The fact is, there is very little In
all this esoteric ratiocination about
. dangerous psychological interpretations
* that mav be put upon Mr. Curtis being,
' or not being, the Republican nominee
for Vice President next year. This sort
' iof argument is, literally, never men
' I tioned in discussions of the subject
j among members of the Republican Na
, I tional Committee. It is doubtful if it
. : ever enters’ Curtis’ head: that is not
i his way of going at things.
. One thing that does weigh with
5 members of the Republican National
Committee is an emotional feeling that
Mr. Curtis should have the privilege
of doing whichever he would most like
! to do. Among the, so to speak, elder
r statesmen" of the Republican National
; Committee there is something like filial
- veneration for Mr. Curtis, because of
' his long activity in the party and the
' masculine qualities he has of courage.
1 directness, political wisdom and. most
' of all, his dependability. There is much
1 bunk in politics and much counterfeit
' emotion. But there is absolutely no
■ false gilt about the feeling of affection
• that old-time Republicans have for Cur
-1! tis. or about the confidence Republic
: ans of all ages. and Democrats as well.
have in his dependability. The most
' suspicious-minded of Mr. Curtis Pro
gressive adversaries land in
his moods the most bitter-tongued).
1 Senator Norris of Nebraska, once said
; that "Charlie Curtis’ word is as good
as gold.”
Age Would Be Handicap.
If the leading members of the Re
publican National Committee were de
nidlng this question —and deciding it
l in a spirit wholly free ff on } personal
considerations— they would^ give
attention to one fixed fact and
capable condition. They would begin
bv saving, as the primary principle,
that choice of any party s presi
dential candidate should £ determined
solely and strictly with regard to the
possibility that the Vice President may
become President.
constitutes substantially sole Tea
son for the existence of the vice presi
dential office. Starting from this as
the deciding principle, they would re
flect upon Mr. Curtis’ age. .
Mr Curtis was bora January 25, 1860.
If he should next year be nominated
or»H piprt/ad Vice President with Mr.
Hoover as President, he would be more
than 73 at the time of inauguration,
March 4 1933. If, thereafter, Mr. Hoo
ver should die after serving, say. two
vears Mr Curtis would step Into the
Presidency at the age of 75.
That would be seven years older than
any President has been at taking office.
The President who was oldest on tak
office was William Henry Harrison,
The next oldest was Buchanan. 65.
! Jrtie next Zachary Taylor. 64. Andrew
Jackson and John Adams were 61. All
; £e otters were under 60 The average
ace of all the Presidents when they
' took office has been 64.
! “rheargument from the point of view
! of lie goes farther. Republican party
! SLSLwSs say that whenever a Vice
[ : on Fourth Page.)., .
ernment aid —have increased five-fold
the past year. At that, however, they
have not reached proportions sufficient
ly large to cause the economic dislo
cation found in other countries, al
though the government has taken
drastic steps to stem the Influx of for
eign labor which France has demanded
annually in the past.
In the throes of this “depression”
Europe is turning to hitherto unheard
I of things to alleviate her economic ills,
! and the United States, also aflected, is
i being drawn into the vortex of Indus
trial and political co-operation and
disarmament.
It took a catastrophic World War to
bring about political co-operation
! through the League, the Briand Euro
-1 pean Confederation and other agencies;
now the universal crisis in agriculture.
1 industry and trade, and a Communist j
menace to capitalism, are bringing
, effective economic co-operation in sigh*
for the first time.
j To cope with unemployment 24 na-
I tions have just signed and ratified a
i treaty which is expected to unify and (
! intensify public works, through exten- ;
sion of international credits for inag-i- i
I rating and carrying on building of
roads, bridges, railways, power lines,
: etc. of value to Europe as a whole j
rather than to individual states ex- |
clusively. '
If credits amounting to $578,420,000,
! asked by 10 Central European coun
| tries, are extended, employment aggre
• gating 296,470,000 work dsys yearly will ,
be available. Belgium proposes an in- ,
: temational automobile highway from t
1 Amsterdam to Paris: Austria is sponsor
ing a scheme which would make the l
JUGOSLAV UNITY AHEAD,
COUNT SFORZA PREDICTS
Bulgaria Will Become Integral Part of
United Slav State Leaning Away From j
Austria, Statesman Prophesies.
BY COUNT CARLO SFORZA,
Former Italian Miniiter for Foreisn Affair*.
ITALIAN unity and German unity
were the two historical certainties
of the nineteenth century. The
same historical law decreed that
there should be again, at th? begin
ning of the twentieth century, a Czech
nation, and for the first time a Jugo
slav nation.
The Sarajevo murder was a useless
crime. Even without it—even without
the World War—the old Austrian Em
pire was doomed.
The Hapsburg monarchy was com
posed, on the eve of the war. of 10
! heterogeneous nationalities Gorman,
Magyar, Czech. Slovak, Polish. Ruthe
nlan. Rumanian, Italian, Serbo-Crotian,
Slovene.
For generations the Hapsburg Em
perors had tried to transform all these
nationalities into a solidly centralized
German state: they had failed because
of the passive resistance of the non-
German peoples.
Created Artificial Nationality.
They achieved, however, a success
which is generally overlooked. I mean
the creation of a new artificial nation
ality which—a unique case in history—
did not characterize a people, but sim
ply a caste; if ther? was no Austria —
Austria In herself being solely a part of
Germany—there were Austrians; Aus
trians who, although German-speaking,
had nothing German about them. They
were the members of an aristocratic and
official caste, chosen through centuries
by the Hapsburgs from among all the
blue-blooded families of Europe, which
were glad to give their youngest sons
to the empire and get through them
new estates and new influences.
Their descendants spoke German, but
neither psychologically nor intellectually
were they German. They were simply
Austrians, the only existing Austrians.
Those who remember pre-war Europe
have seen them in the empire ante
chambers. in the Austro-Hungarian em
bassies, in the Austrian cavalry regi
ments and in the last years in the
Austrian Navy.
Wanted to End Compromise.
They ruled Austria and, with Austria,
the Italians and the Czechs of Austria,
just as their Magyar cousins ruled the
peoples subject to the St. Stephen’s
crown—Serbo-Croats, Rumanians and
Slovaks.
Only one Hapsburg had the intention
of reconciling with one another, through
fairness of treatment, all the 10 peoples
constituting the empire of his ancestors.
It is one of the tragedies of history that
this man—Francis Ferdinand—should
have been killed on the eve of the war
by a nationalistic youth of one of the
people which, according to the arch
duke's program, would have been raised
to national dignity, or at least to an
honorable autonomy, on the accession
to the throne of Francis Joseph’s heir.
Francis Ferdinand —it was his secret
—wanted to do away with the ausgleich
(compromise) of 1867, through which
his uncle Francis Joseph had estab
lished two privileged peoples in Austria
and in Hungary.
■What Franois Joseph at 80 was in
capable of facing—and even of think
ing—his heir was determined to accom
plish; with one stroke simultaneously to
r break up the nationalistic supremacy of
r the proud Magyar and to transform the
! bureaucratic supremacy of the “Aus
ptrtaa’’ officials Into a union of national
Danube navigable for l.?00-ton ship*;
Rumania wants 20,000.000.000 lei In
order to put 200.000 men to work for
five years on roads, bridges, railways,
etc. Even Turkey has projects for
harbor work, hydraulic development and
railroad* which, at an expenditure of
140,000,000 Turkish pounds, will give
employment to 21,830 workers over a
seven-year period. Poland under the
treaty seeks 2,480,000,000 zlotys for elec
tric development, housing and roads
which would mean a year's work for
357.000 men.
The treaty, furthermore, pledges its
signatories to co-ordinate their national
employment agencies, study unemploy
ment with a viewpoint of radical eco
nomic reorganization founded on a
common utilization, to the highest de
gree. of land, raw material, labor and
capital. Even a quarterly allocation of
laborers to markets where they are in
demand, is envisaged—in other words,
machinery lor the migration of workers
internationally along practical lines.
The unemployment and economic
crisis which has been driving Europe
together apparently is not a passing
phenomenon, nor is the counter move
ment to restore normalcy, if not pros
perity, a flash in the pan.
Problem of Stabilization.
Statistics are dull, but they serve to
paint a word picture. Also official fig
ures, which alone have been made use
, of in this article, nearly always are
' ultra -conservative. Though they show
! Europe, and the entire world, in a
i pretty bad way economically, with the
1 turn not yet reached,_ the important
I (Continued on Fifth Page >
democracies in which Germans. Hun
garians, Slavs and Rumanians would
have become equal partners.
Vain play to reshape history with ifs.
But one cannot help wondering what
Europe would be If Francis Ferdinand's
plan had become a reality—no European
war; feudal, aristocratic Austria trans
formed into a sort of 'gigantic federal \
Switzerland; an example for some fu
ture United States of Europe, or at
least for a "Mittel Europe" with no j
German hegemony. . . .
Indeed, a remote but essential part
of Francis Ferdinand's plan inevitably
eliminated all idea of war and. with :
war, the hatreds and the menaces of •
new wars that war inevitably engenders.
For not only was he planning the unifl- !
cation of the Jugoslavs with the mon- ;
archy, changing its character from dual
istic to trialistic, but he also considered
that perhaps some day even Serbia
might become a more or less loose part
ner of his new Austria —no longer a
German-Magyar monarchy, but a wider
union of free national entities, linked
together by a common allegiance to the
supreme Hapsburg lord. After all. he
must have thought sometimes, Serbia
had once been a sort of vassal of Aus
tria during the reign of Milan Obreno- 1
vich, and at a time when Austria was :
lacking th? power of attraction he was
dreaming of her.
Jugoalavism as Strategy.
Certainly the love of independence Is,
with the Serbians, blood of their blood.
But the Archduke was entitled to hope
that even the Serbians of Serbia proper
might have ended by envying the free
dom and well being of their brothers
beyond the borders, granted, of course,
that these did feel free and happy.
The Archduke's thoughts did go as
far as that, I was told by a typically
Serbian witness, old Pachich. In Corfu,
where we shared, during the war, so
many hopes and fears—besides the oc
casional diversion of Austrian bombard
ments—the Serbian leader told me more
than once, when in some of his rem
iniscent moods, that he had never
trembled for the future of his beloved
little Serbia as he did when he finally
caught the secret thought of Francis
Ferdinand.
And yet Pachich had a sort of super
human faith in the strength, the tough
ness, the vitality of his Serbian people
—by which he meant only his little
peasant independent Serbia that had
never fallen under Austrian or Hun
garian masters. The wider form of
Jugoslav patriotism he never under
stood; to him it was a Croat invention —
to repeat the very words he often used
with me during the war. Jugoslavism
was to him first a strategical necessity
—during the war—and later on—during
the Vercallles negotiations—a political
necessity; but I am sure that he always
looked with mistrust on the transforma
tion of what he would have called a
“Greater Serbia’’ into the Kingdom of
the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
Early in August, 1914, some Influential
Jugoslavs, among them Trumbich, a
noted Spalato lawyer, were already at
work in Rome. Their program was the
same—or seemed the same—as that
which was proclaimed in the Skupsh
tina by the Serbian government in No
vember, 1919: “The unity of all our
brothers who are not yet free, Serbians,
Croats and Slovenes."
Succeeding in escaping from Prague,
the Czech leader Masaryk arrived in
Rome in December, 1914; Masaryk’a to
(Contlnued on Fourth Page,). _. l
Special Articles
FRENCH NOTE FORETELLS
DISARMAMENT MEET DOOM
Maintains Air Force Is at Minimum
Against German Claims—Discord Au
gurs 111 for Geneva Conference.
BT O. H. ARCHAMBAULT.
PARIS. —Publication this week of
the full text of the French
memorandum to the League of
Nations on armaments, to be
presented to next year’s dis
armament conference at Geneva, in
dicates that France is unwilling to con
sent to further arms cuts without strong
guarantees of the status quo in Europe
and of her own security.
Sensational imaginary pictures of
Paris and other French cities being
destroyed by air attacks, while some
what minimized by the general staff,
continue to be displayed prominently
in Paris journals. Some of them even
advocate that corner stores keep a sup
ply of gas masks available for the
populace at a moment's notice in the
event of a gas attack.
Plane Situation Stressed.
The importance to France of not
cutting down her air force in the pres
ent precarious situation in Europe is
pointed out in the memorandum, which
states that the nation has only 80
airplanes more than It had in 1923
and that these are chiefly in colonial
service, while instead of the seven diri
gibles it had in 1923 there are now only
three.
At present France has 1.210 land and
sea military planes, or 30 more than
she had six years ago. when the serv
ice was overhauled. How thess planes
may best be used for defensive pur
poses is expected to be exhaustively
described in an important report which
is sheeduled to be made public w'hen
it is submitted by Marshal Philippe
Petain at the reopening of Parlament
in the Autumn.
For several months now Marshal
Petain has been investigating military
aviation in France, inspecting existing
defenses and preparing others. He has
also been testing the combative value
of the French army air service. Under
his direction and in his presence aerial
maneuvers have been held in several
sections of the country, especially by
night. In each case emphasis has been
placed on defense rather than on
offense, for it is admitted that it is
easier to carry out an air attack than
1 to repel one. *
“Air Danger Overemphasised.”
It is understood that Marshal Petain
will report that the popular concep
i tion of the magnitude of aerial attacks
is based on erroneous ideas. Aggres
sion from the air would be a very
grave menace in time of war. but it
must not be imagined that cities will
be wiped out in a few minutes, as pic
tured by sensational writers.
From the point of view of defense.
: the two most important factors are
rapidity and organization. As the as
sailant will rely in great part on the
effects of surprise, it is essential that
anti-aircraft units should be stationed
in time of peace at the very spot where
they will be needed in time of war.
Furthermore, observation stations must
be numerous and manned by competent
staffs, in order that there may be no
delay in reporting the passage of enemy
air squadrons, with indications of their
speed, altitude and strength, together
with reports on wind and visibility.
From the maneuvers hitherto carried
out in France, it would appear that the
barrage is the most reliable weapon
against invaders from the air. Attempts
to bring down airplanes by direct hits
1 are discouraged, reliance being placed
in the moral and material value of pro
longed barrages in the case of planes
j heavily laden with explosives.
European Railways
Face Bus Competition
VIENNA, Austria. —Omnibuses are
beginning to compete with the rail
wavs in Central Europe. The first long
! distance route has recently begun
operation—a service twice a day be
tween Budapest and Vienna. The road
on the Hungarian side is extremely
| good, while in Austria it is fairly good,
j The trip is run in just under six hours.
| The railway takes five. The bus fare
! will, however, be considerably cheaper
| than the third-class railway fare of
120 Austrian sehillins i about s3t, as
against 28 (84), and the busses are
i far more comfortable. They contain
! arm chairs and seat 37 persons, carry
1 hot-air heating and cold-air ventila
! tion, including buffet service and
radios.
I -
Palestine Jews Turning to Farms;
Most of New Immigrants Are Poles
GENEVA.—“Back to the land’’ is the
keynoteslogan of a report to the Inter
| national Labor Office from the Gen
eral Federation of Jewish Labor in
, Palestine, which shows the -distribution
i of Jewish immigrants in industrial em
! ploy in that country. Expatriates from
i Poland form the bulk of the incoming
Jewish immigrant population.
Jewish industrial immigrant workers
have entered the country since the war
to the number of 23.830. Considerable
numbers of Industrial workers in other
enterprises have gone over to agricul
tural pursuits during the past five years.
After Poland the greatest number
came from Russia, followed in order by
Rumania, Lithuania, Germany and Lat
via. Those born in Palestine and re
turned thereto head the list of non-
European immigrants, and in turn
others from the Yemen. Iraq, Turkey,
Persia. Other countries were headed by
Africa and America (the latter num
bering only 141), with an almost invisi
ble minority from Australia and a mis
cellaneous thousand of unknown origin.
In 1930 agriculture accounted for 21.5
per cent; industry and handicrafts,
25.8; transport workers, 6.3; building
enterprises and public works, 11.1; of
fices and hotels, 18.7; professions, 8;
domestic service. 7.5, and miscellaneous,
1.1. All these classes show an increase
except industry and public works.
Those who have cruised the Mediter
ranean in those popular Winter trips
abroad have found their chief memory
of Palestine food supply in the famous
Jaffa oranges. It is to the increasing
culture of citrus fruits that Jewish emi
gration to Palestine owes its greatest
impetus.
The changes which have taken place
recently in Palestinian economy are due
largely to this great increase in orange
growing in the countryside, the area
having grown three fold during the past
five years. Those engaged in agricul
tural occupations are more than twice
the number of those in the towns.
Wheat, tobacco, olive oil and sesame
seed form the bulk of other field crops
—the latter an Ingredient of lipsticks
and cosmetics, which shows at least the
development of the modem idea of
crop diversity.
Os Jewish workers in Palestine 72.2
per cent are employed in manual occu
pations. Town workers exceed those
working In the settlements of the agri
' cultural co-operative societies, their
BY FREDERICK OECHSNER.
BERLIN. —Germany squarely re
jects the French memorandum
I on armaments, submitted "this
•week to the League of Nations,
and insists that the only guar
antee of safety in Europe is equality in
armaments, at least in principle.
The least restrained German opinion
holds that the French memorandum
represents-"a policy half way between
megalomania and persecution,” and is
a clear sign that France intends to
thwart any reduction in armaments
whatsoever.
1932 Conference Spiked.
This can hardly be taken here or
anywhere else to augur well for the
success of the Disarmament Confer
ence to open in Geneva next Febru
ary. With France and Germany so
completely in disagreement on major
issues, it would seem that the 1932
Conference is spiked far in advance.
The amicability demonstrated between
German and French statesmen in the
last week—a friendliness held here to
be of historic importance—may prove
to be valuable in meeting the knotty
practical problems of guns and powder,
but the outlook at present is dubious.
The charge is made in some quarters
here that publication of the French
memorandum Was premeditated and
was a direct effort to sabotage the
London Seven-Power Conference. It is
pointed out semi-officially, however,
that the memorandum was two weeks
old at the time of its publication, which
was made necessary by certain indis
creet revelations in the preaa.
It is constantly reiterated in the dis
cussions here, of course, that German
disarmament under the Versailles
treaty was intended only as a begin
ning of a program that the other na
tions were to follow. Germany doee not
demand armaments for herself so much
as disarmament for others, but at the
same time she sticks to the meager
rights granted her under the Versailles
treaty.
Would Discuss Program.
Thus, in respect to building another
“vest-pocket battleship” to follow the
remarkable cruiser Deutschland, re
cently launched, a spokesman of official
opinion told this correspondent that,
while Germany is unable to consider
relinquishing this second cruiser as a
political concession to France in return
for financial assistance, the Reich is not
averse to discussing the merits of her
naval program, as limited as it is. at
the coming Geneva Conference. Ger
many would consent to having her
naval armaments fitted into almost any
system that the conference might agree
upon, but not under political pressure,
so the spokesman stated.
The situation as it now stands can
not continue for long. The question of
disarmament is the keystone of inter
national politics and if no solution is
found, only the highest tension in in
ternational relationship can result, ac
cording to this authority.
Reductions Challenged.
France is understood to mean in her
memorandum that she does not intend
to reduce her armaments, and the claim
that she already has largely done so is
challenged by German military experts.
They assert that only transformation
and reorganization have taken place,
which cannot be construed as an actual
reduction of arms. If Germany in tha
interests of disarmament is not allowed
to have armored tanks, airplanes, sub
marines, heavy artillery, etc., then
these must likewise be forbidden to
other nations, so Germany opines.
The National League of German
Officers in a pronouncement on the
French memorandum declares the time
has come for Germany to arm to the
limit of her power. In a telegram to
Chancellor Bruening while h. was in
London this week, the German Navy
League, a famous old organization which
was behind the pre-war German naval
program, but which today has a scant
following, has hoisted its colors again
and emphasized the absolute necessity
of carrying through the building of the
second cruiser.
In all accuracy it must be said that
the disarmament question, even in view
of the French memorandum, is far
overshadowed today by the more press
ing economic difficulties which face
Germany. The people are far more
concerned with questions of credit than
with those of guns. Which might be
considered a healthy sign.
♦ Copyright. 1931 >
number having risen from 4,782 in 1919
to 14.798 in 1922 and 26.349 in 1929.
When the countryside revival as
planned by the American Zionist group
is brought to full realization, it is hoped
that what will be known as the Ameri
can tract will give a livelihood to a
population of 200.000. Felix M. War
burg is announced as having made a
I personal contribution of $50,000 on be
half of the project.
The geographical distribution of these
immigrant workers is as follows.
1930.
Jewish plantation settlements.... 7,735
Tel-aviv 6,695
Jerusalem 5,189
Haifa 3.001
Other towms 1,210
All districts show an increase except
the port of Haifa.
Families with one or two children
account for 70 per cent. Children un
der 12 years form but 1 per cent., and
those from 12 to 18 years 12.5 per cent
of the immigrant population. Those of
80 years and over, numbering 339, form
1.5 per cent. Fifty per cent of all work
ers, town and country, are unmarried
males. Unmarried females amount to
72 per cent.
(Copyright. 1931.)
'
Cotton-Raising Tests
Renewed in Hawaii
HONOLULU. Hawaii.—Experiments
in cotton growing are being renewed
in Hawaii, as a result of the excellent
results several Japanese growers have
been getting with the “Caravonica
wool” variety. The University of
Hawaii extension department is aid
ing the growers to work out cultiva
tion problems, and one firm of mat
tress-makers has already developed
considerable business in cotton mat
tresses. The university experts find
that there are thousands of acres of
Hawaiian land, now almost useless for
other crops, on which from 500 to 1,000
pounds an acre can be grown. In
view of the unhappy experiences of the
South with cotton, local growers are
proceeding slowly, meeting first the
demand that can be developed in the
4 k