Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 2, Number 28, DeMotte, Jasper County, 2 February 1933 — News Review of Current Events the World Over [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

News Review of Current Events the World Over

Chancellor Chamberlain Says Great Britain Wants War Debt Cancellation--Inflationists Lose in Senate--Lame Duck Amendment Ratified.

By EDWARD W. PICKARD

GREAT BRITAIN has been invited to discuss with the United States the war debts with a view to revision and possible reduction, the invitation

having been extended by the Hoover administration with the almost certain concurrence of PresidentElect Roosevelt. The conference, if the British accept, will be held in March; and it will be followed immediately by similar conferences with the nations that are not In default in payment to this country, namely, Italy, Lithuania,

Czechoslovakia, Finland and Latvia. But Secretary of State Stimson, in sending out the invitations, omitted France, Belgium, Poland, Hungary and Esthonia, the nations that have defaulted; and this, too, it is understood, met with the approval of Mr. Roosevelt, who will be President when the negotiations are under way. However, there were indications in Washington that Mr. Roosevelt will have arranged separate conferences with the defaulters. England is especially interested in having France included in such arrangements as may be made, believing a final settlement of debt and economic subjects cannot well be reached unless France is taken into account. Representative Rainey of Illinois, Democratic floor leader in the house, seemed to be roused by the news. “The conferences won’t amount to anything, in my opinion,’* Rainey said, “because the American people are not going to stand for a reduction in the debts. “The debt conferences should be linked with the world economic conference. The thing to do is to bring about a removal of international trade barriers so that trade can be revived. The conferences already projected hold only a possibility of opting up trade routes and giving the debtors a chance to pay.” England accepted the invitation, and her stand on the war debt question was stated plainly by Chancellor Neville Chamberlain in an address before the Leeds Chamber of Commerce. Briefly, the British government will ask either cancellation or reduction so drastic that it will almost amount to the same thing. If this cannot be obtained, said Chamberlain, the settlement reached must be final and must not involve resumption of the German reparations. “To disturb the Lausanne agreement,” he said, “would be to reopen old wounds and to destroy for an indefinite period all prospect of agreement on matters affecting the happiness and prosperity not merely of Europe but of the whole world.” Undertaking to explain the matter to “the farmer of the Middle West,” the chancellor said that if the war debts payments were to be resumed they could not be made by loans or by further shipments of gold. “Effective means of paying.” he continued, “would have to be found and they could only be found by increasing sales of foreign goods to America or, what would come to the same thing, by diminishing purchases from America.”

THERE will be no more lame duck sessions of congress, for the Twentieth amendment to the Constitution has now been ratified by more than 36

states and will go into effect October 15 next. Action by the Missouri legislature clinched it, and several other legislatures came into line the same day. Under this amendment both senators and representatives assume office on January 3 following their election. The President and Vice President take office

on January 20 following election. The newly elected congress is automatically called into session on January 3 and on the same date one year later. The changes do not affect the terms of Hoover and Curtis or any member of the present congress. Adoption of the amendment is something of a personal victory for Senator Norris of Nebraska who fought for it through many years. It was passed by the senate several times but always previously was blocked in the house. INFLATIONISTS are becoming more vociferous and apparently more numerous daily in Washington, but at this writing they have not got anywhere. Their first big effort was put forth during debate on the Glass banking bill in the senate. Wheeler of Montana, independent Democrat, offered an amendment providing for the free coinage of silver at the ratio of sixteen to one--the old formula of William Jennings Bryan--and Huey Long of Louisiana proposed another amendment authorizing the govern-

ment purchase of silver and stabilization at approximately 14.38 to 1. After violent discussion both these schemes were defeated, by a vote of 56 to 18 in each case. During the debate Senator Tom Connally of Texas increased the perplexity of the senate by announcing he was preparing a measure to debase the gold content of the dollar by onethird and perhaps, if it were constitutional, to forbid individuals making contracts calling for payment in dollars of current weight and fineness. Both Senator Glass and Senator Fess argued strongly against all the inflation proposals, as did Reed of Pennsylvania. After being badly mangled by amendments the Glass banking bill was passed by the senate. Its fate in the house is problematical.

FARMERS are to have the opportunity of borrowing $90,000,000 from Uncle Sam with which to produce this year’s crops, unless the bill passed by congress is killed by a Presidential veto. The measure makes available the sum named of the unused balance of $200,000,000 of R. F. C. funds allocated to agriculture. The loans will be made for planting, fallowing and cultivation, and the secretary of agriculture is empowered to exact from borrowers agreements to reduce acreage not to exceed 30 per cent. One million dollars is allocated for feed for farm live stock in drought and storm stricken areas. Farm bloc members of congress defended the bill, asserting there would be widespread suffering on the farms unless such loans were authorized. Many member, however, attacked it as paternalistic, socialistic and bound to increase farm product surpluses Snell of New York, minority leader, declared it was utterly inconsistent with the pending domestic allotment measure, the purpose of which is to increase farm product prices and decrease acreage. The senate agriculture committee began hearings on the domestic allotment bill Wednesday, hoping they would be completed in a week or so. The same arguments for and against it that were heard in the house were repeated.

MR. ROOSEVELT, in Warm Springs after his inspection of Muscle Shoals, was busy studying the problems that will come before him and

conferred with many notable men of his party and a few who are not of that persuasion. Among his callers were several who, according to the cabinet makers, have good chances of being offered portfolios. Among these was Bronson Cutting, the senator from New Mexico who bolted the Republican ticket

last fall and helped elect Roosevelt. The gossip was that he would be made secretary of the interior if he were willing to accept the place. Senator Cutting was accompanied on his visit by Senator La Follette of Wisconsin. Bernard M. Baruch of New York, chairman of the emergency national transportation committee, also was in Warm Springs helping the PresidentElect prepare his program and giving advice especially on the railroad situation. There was talk that he might be appointed secretary of state, probably the only cabinet position he would take, though many still thought that position would go to either Senator Walsh of Montana, Owen D. Young or Norman Davis. Mr. Roosevelt told the correspondents he might announce one cabinet choice before going on his yacht trip, but no more than one. Presumably that will be Jim Farley, who it is conceded will be postmaster general.

PRESIDENT HOOVER vetoed the first deficiency bill, carrying appropriations of $31,000,000 and the house upheld his action, the vote being 192 to 158. The President disapproved of the measure because he and Attorney General Mitchell held unconstitutional a provision placing control of all substantial refunds from income, gift and inheritance taxes in the hands of a joint congressional committee. Senator McKellar indicated that he would make another attempt to remove control over refunds from the treasury. ELIMINATION of the citizens’ military training camps as an economy move was rejected by the house, which added $2,500,000 to the War department appropriation bill to insure their continuance. Also $500,000 was added to the appropriation for the reserve officers’ corps. The measure was then passed. The senate finance committee reported the house beer bill amended to include wine and to provide 3.05 per cent alcoholic content. This measure may get through congress before adjournment but probably will be vetoed if it does.

PLANS for the inaugural of Mr. Roosevelt are rapidly nearing completion and the stand from which the new President and other dignitaries will review the parade is being constructed. The inaugural committee, headed by Rear Admiral Cary D. Grayson, is really arranging for quite a big show despite the request of Mr. Roosevelt that the affair be simple and inexpensive. The committee decided that the parade should be limited to about 10,000 marchers who will take two hours to pass the stand. As now planned it will be in four divisions led by General Pershing as grand marshal. CANADA scored a victory in a rum running case that was ruled on by the Supreme court. It grew out of the seizure of the Nova Scotian rum ship Mazel Tov. The court held that in cases of vessels of British and Canadian registry, the 1924 treaty with Great Britain superseded the provisions of the 1922 and 1930 tariff acts. The opinion declared therefore that coast guardsmen may board, search, and seize British and Canadian vessels only when they are less than one hour’s sailing distance from the American shore, instead of within a 12-mile limit as provided by the tariff act.

ALEXANDER, the handsome young king of Jugoslavia, accompanied by Queen Marie and his foreign minister, Bosko Jeftich, spent the week in

Rumania visiting King Carol at the latter’s country place, Sinaia palace. Officially it was just a family visit, Marie being Carol’s sister, but the correspondents said it was for the purpose of seeking a common front on the question of equal armaments, due to come up for discussion in Geneva on January 31. The little entente powers,

which include these two nations and Czechoslovakia, did not like the action of the great powers in giving Germany judicial equality in armaments without consulting the little entente, and they propose now to demand more consideration when important matters come up at Geneva. King Alexander was especially anxious to get Rumania’s backing on a protest which Jugoslavia plans to raise against Italy’s alleged pouring of machine guns and munitions into Hungary through Austria. Diplomats in Bucharest said an important side-issue of the royal visit would be a private conference concerned with the problem of restoration of former King George as the ruler of Greece. Such restoration, it was explained, would be immensely valuable to Jugoslavia, since a friendly Greek government would secure use of Saloniki harbor for Jugoslavia should circumstances demand.

SOUTH AMERICA’S two unofficial wars attracted considerable attention during the week. Colombia sent a joint note to signers of the Kellogg pact asking that they call upon Peru not to violate the treaty at Leticia, toward which a Colombian flotilla was steaming to recapture the town from the Peruvian Nationalists who seized it some time ago. The place was ceded to Colombia by Peru under a treaty signed in 1922. The Peruvian government asked the League of Nations to order suspension of “all measures of force” in the Leticia area. Secretary of State Stimson hurriedly called to his home the diplomatic representatives of the powers signatory to the Kellogg pact to consider this critical situation. He then sent a note to Peru invoking the pact and making it plain that the United States considered Peru was in the wrong in the dispute. Bolivians and Paraguayans were fighting desperately for possession of Fort Nanawa in the disputed Gran Chaco and both sides claimed the advantage. The battle lasted for days and the casualties were numerous. REPORTS from Tokyo said the Japanese cabinet had decided that Japan’s withdrawal from the League of Nations was inevitable and had instructed Yosuke Matsuoka to restate his country’s position in regard to Manchuria and then leave Geneva for home. Foreign Minister Yasuya Uchida was understood to have informed the cabinet that application of paragraph four of article fifteen by the league, under which recommendation for definite action in the Manchurian dispute can be made, appeared almost certain. The cabinet, it was said, agreed that this step would be followed by condemnation of Japan’s action in recognizing the Manchukuo Independent government headed by Henry Pu Yi, the former emperor. UNIVERSITY of Illinois is losing its accomplished president. Dr. Harry Woodburn Chase, who has been at the head of the big institution only about two years. Doctor Chase has presented his resignation, effective at the end of the current school year, and will become chancellor of New York university, succeeding Chancellor Brown. He went to the University of Illinois from the University of North Carolina, where he already had made a fine reputation. PRESIDENT EAMON DE VALERA won a smashing victory in the Irish Free State elections, his party gaining votes everywhere at the expense of that of William Cosgrave, his chief opponent. ©, 1933, Western Newspaper Union.

Chancellor Chamberlain

Sen. Norris

Sen. Cutting

King Alexander