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FRANCE

Romantic writers has never been surpassed. Into the immortal love stories of France has been poured all the passion, all the dash and daring and brilliance of a nation of accomplished lovers. De Maupassant, Hugo, George Sand, the Dumas', and their contemporaries hold a unique and striking position that has never been challenged by any other powerful group of writers.

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NATIONAL

THE PRESIDENCY

Mr. Coolidge's Week

The President telegraphed to Friend W. Richardson, Governor of California: "Have noticed with deep concern the report of the growing destruction of forest fires in your State. I trust you will advise me if effective aid can properly be extended by the Federal Government."

A series of fires, following drought, had sprung up in California, Washington and Idaho. A good rain in the latter two States helped the firefighters materially. Severe fires still continued in several parts of California.

Mr. Coolidge accompanied his father, Col. John Coolidge, to the Walter Reed Hospital in order that the latter might undergo a thorough medical examination after having spent years on his farm without close medical attention. While waiting the President decided that he would have himself examined likewise. The doctors were unable to discover important flaws in the health of either.

THE CAMPAIGN Jolly Roger

Last week, occupied mostly in organization and preparation for the fray, saw the crystallization of the first important elements of the campaign. These are simple, fundamental. They comprehend three distinct matters, each with a significance of its own. They are:

1) This is a tripartate, not a dual combat.

2) The leaders of all parties, in their several characters, and the issues of the parties, are peculiarly mixed.

3) Campaign funds must, and will be gathered, which raises three questions: How much need be gathered? How much can be gathered?

July 28, 1924

How much public odium will result from the gathering?

then elect a Vice President from the two highest candidates for Vice Prsident. In the Senate the Republicans have 51 members, the Democrats 43, the Farmer-Laborites 2. Forty-nine votes are necessary to elect. Messrs. LaFollette and some of his insurgent colleagues, deserting from the Republican ranks, could easily deprive the Republicans of the necessary majority. Ergo, Mr. LaFollette would have the balance of power in choosing the next President. He might even have the opportunity of saying whether he wished Coolidge, Davis, Dawes or Charles W. Bryan for President. He probably would choose the last under such circumstances.

CONTENTS

What chances are there of his bringing this about? Mr. LaFollette has a good chance of carrying five Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas, Montana. These states have 39 electoral votes. He may possibly carry seven or eight more, giving him a total of 80 electoral votes. With these votes, unless either Coolidge or Davis runs well ahead of the other, Mr. La Follette may secure his aim.

Leaders and Issues. The Republican ticket and platform are easily and rather vaguely described as "Conservative."

The Democratic ticket is a cause of questioning. Charles W. Bryan is the unknown quantity. He wears the progressive label. He has been doing the things in the Middle West that progressives admire. The country is frankly puzzled about this mixed team. Its inconsistency opens it to attack.

Mr. LaFollette entered the second stage of his campaign by securing Senator Burton K. Wheeler of Montana for his running-mate. Thus he united a "radical" element from the Democratic Party with the insurgent Republicans he had already gathered to stand on his platform of opposition to the "predatory interests." Mr. Wheeler first repudiated John W. Davis, his party's candidate, as one

tainted with Wall Street. Nevertheless Mr. Wheeler promised to support the Senatorial and State Democratic ticket in Montana. This is typical of nearly all the entrants in the new "party." They declare themselves for a third ticket. If the third ticket attains a fair degree of success, it will be time enough for them to burn their bridges, give up their present parties, join a new one. The question arises why these would-be deserters are not summarily ejected by the old parties. This might well be the case, if party control were centralized. But instead, control is scattered in every State, and the insurgents hold local parts of the party organizations in their power. The old parties prefer to have their limbs disaffected rather than disjoined.

La Follette and Wheeler, raising the Jolly Roger, set out to scuttle convervatism and make big business walk the plank.

Campaign Funds. The question of raising money for electioneering of all kinds is this year complicated by the presence of a committee of Senators, headed by Wm. E. Borah (TIME, June 16). The committee has authority to find out what money is spent for or against any candidate, as well as who contributed the funds. Senator Borah made a preliminary request for information.

Mr. Butler answered that he believed the Republican National Committee had had about $50,000 cash on July 1-the Treasurer would give accurate figures. The Republicans, as in previous years, have the largest party campaign fund.

The Democrats, later in organizing, had not yet replied to Mr. Borah's inquiries. It was hinted, however, that when it came their turn they would report "less than $2,500" on hand as of July 1.

The La Follette expenditures will probably be least of the three.

CABINET

Apt Words

It must have been with a great many grim thoughts that Governor General Wood, acting on behalf of the Secretary of War, opened the Insular Legislature of the Philippines. He had warred all through the previous session with the Legislature, which demanded his removal. The chief occupation of the island legislators has been to say "No" when the Governor said "Yes" and to say "Yes" when they anticipated that the Governor would say "No."

Seeing the faces of his tantalizers before him, who knows but that Gen

eral Wood "inwardly gnashed his teeth"? What could he say to these people? If they liked him personally, it made no difference, because as matter of politics they abused his every utterance publicly. So he told the legislators that public health had been very good during the past year, that the death rate had been the lowest on record, that he would coöperate with them in enacting "constructive legislation looking toward the upbuilding of Philippine economic independence," that they should modify the laws for leasing the public domain so as to encourage rubber planting. He summarized with a great flourish:

"A most creditable progress and a marked advance in political development have been made, but very little has been done to encourage economic development; but upon this and the further progress of education in the Government's activities political development very largely depends."

Unfortunately, as the Governor well knew, the Filipinos have a much greater flair for politics and political scheming than for commerce and civil engineering. Perhaps the Governor sighed. But he had really little to fear in the nature of an immediate rumpus from the Legislature, for the reason that all the real political leaders are in this country, junketing and ineffectually agitating for Insular independence.

almost as low, then remarkable things happened to the farmers and the farming industry.

The first of these was hard times. Everybody who has read a political speech in the last nine months knows that more mortgages have been foreclosed in some parts of the country than there is land. Hard times hurt. But others came with hard times that will last long after these hard times are forgotten. One was a remarkable system of credit facilities for agricultural regions. Another was a great impulse towards diversified farming and more scientific methods. Another was a boost for coöperative marketing. Another was a farm bloc, then an insurgent bloc, and finally a third ticket in politics. Another was the cry that the railways are overcapitalized and freight rates need reducing.

Within a few days sudden changes, the development of events, have cast a new and important light on eral of these phases of the farm problem.

sev

Co-operative Marketing. The boldest step toward coöperative marketing that has yet been taken was made by five of the largest grain elevator companies of the Middle West.* They banded themselves together into a great unit, the Grain Marketing Company, with capital stock of $51,000,000. Not more than $26,000,000 of this will be outstanding at one time, however. First, to the public is to be sold $25,000,000 of preferred stock. Then gradually an equal amount of preferred stock and a million dollars' worth of common stock are to be sold to bona fide graingrowers. As the farmers buy preferred stock, just so rapidly will the preferred stock of the general public be retired. Executive officers of the companies agree to continue in their present posts for five years The Board of Directors is to consist two-thirds of farmers. The plan will go into operation as soon as the general public has subscribed the first $4,000,000 of preferred stock.

There are a great many "if's" about the success of the proposal:

If the public will subscribe the original $25,000,000,

If the poor farmers can find $25,000,000 in their overall pockets worn

*The five companies are Armour Grain Co.. Rosenbaum Grain Corp., J. C. Schaffer & Co., Rosenbaum Bros. (all of Chicago), and the Davis-Noland-Merrill Grain Co. (of Kan sas City). It is possible that the Bartlett Frazier Co. (of Chicago) may enter the ar rangement later.

full of many holes during lean years, If the farmers can learn in five years to manage such a gigantic enterprise successfully,

If anyone can run the elevator business profitably-(it is hinted that the reason the grain elevator companies are so willing to sell out is that they have been losing money),

Then the farmers may make something out of this great scheme. One advantage will be on their side: they will have a virtual monopoly and moreover cannot be prosecuted for it under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act because farm organizations are expressly excluded from its provisions by a later law, the CapperVolstead Act.

un

Political Revolt. The insurgentfarmer move in politics will doubtedly be affected by the uptrend which wheat and corn prices have taken in recent weeks. September wheat went up to about $1.25 a bushel. The Department of Agriculture reports from 11 countries which last

year produced 64% of the world's wheat, showed an estimate of 15% below last year's production. This, if it comes to pass, means improved prices. It means more money in the pockets of our farmers. It is a worse blow to the LaFollette ticket than any political maneuver which could be engineered by Republicans or Democrats. It vindicates those members of the Administration who said: "We will give you farmers what financially sound relief can be given through better credit. The law of supply and demand will eventually give you real relief-and no other law can."

Freight Rates. The farmers' demand for lower freight rates, which was the one direct and easy way they could see of saving themselves money, will also be affected by higher prices. With economic pressure lessening, it is only logical that the demand should grow less insistent. More directly important in its bearing is the attitude which the Interstate Commerce Commission has taken on account of increased grain prices. The Commission had been considering whether freight rates were not too high in relation to the value of farm products hauled. Prices having risen, the Commission decided that freight rates need not be, reduced. This was good news, if not for the farmers, at least for the hundreds of thousands of owners of railway securities.

TAXATION Twelve for Justice

Twelve of the Board of Tax Appeals, which has been created by the new Revenue Act, assembled together for the first time. Garrard B. Winston, Under Secretary of the Treasury, and Acting Secretary in Mr. Mellon's absence, addressed them with pellucid words. He told the Board what was expected of it.

Until the present time, he explained, when a case that was at all doubtful came before the Revenue Bureau, it was decided against the taxpayer. The Bureau could not decide against itself and then bring suit against the taxpayer. So the poor taxpayer had to pay the assessment, just or not, and then sue to recover it. If the taxpayer won, he had settled, at his cost, the doubts of the tax-collectors.

Under the new system, in a dubious case, taxpayer and Treasury both present their views to the Board of Tax Appeals. If the Board decides in favor of the Treasury, then the taxpayer must pay first and sue afterwards, as at present. If the decision is in favor of the taxpayer, he pays what he thinks he should and the Treasury sues.

Mr. Winston added a few golden admonitions for the Board:

a

"If your Board permits its docket to become congested, the Government is delayed in the collection of its revenue and in order to operate must find revenue elsewhere. For the next few years, back-taxes are very material part of the Government's receipts. During the last fiscal year they probably ran as high as $400,000,000. . You should not permit yourselves to be lost in involved and tedious law suits. Make yourselves an administrative body to settle taxes. Give speedy decisions.

To delay is to deny justice-both to the Government and the taxpayer."

aid, passed a law against a Commissioner participating in a case in which he or his immediate relatives had a direct pecuniary interest.

Apparently the matter was settled. Not so. The Commission undertook the investigation of the tariff on butter. Immediately three disgusted members announced that they could not take part in the proceedings because they owned farms on which cows were kept. The other three members grew very angry.

Together all six took their quarrel to the President. He referred them all to Comptroller General McCarl. Mr. McCarl sent them a written opinion several days later. He held that the relatives in the forbidden group were "father, mother, children, brothers and sisters of husband or wife." He held that "direct pecuniary interest" meant "an interest upon which action in the tariff-matter under consideration would be immediately, rather than remotely, reflected."

It is not unlikely that the six Commissioners will divide-three against three on the question of how Mr. McCarl should be interpreted.

WOMEN

Mr. and Mrs.

After her marriage Ellen Graham Bassell became Mrs. John W. Davis. Twelve years later she became the wife of a nominee. As such she now figures.

Like her husband, or perhaps because of her husband, she has not abstained from politics. But the politics of which she partakes is not the kind of politics which her husband pursues. John W. Davis is the son of the late John J. Davis, who was for long a political leader in West Virginia. The son marched into politics along the practical path followed by his father. He marched into the House of Representatives.

It was at this point that Ellen Graham Bassell appeared on the scene, to become the second Mrs. Davis. Said Town Topics: "In entertaining small talk she is the equal of John William himself, certainly of Robert Lansing, and is entirely comparable to the second Mrs. Woodrow Wilson." Besides, she had the reputation of patronizing the best dressmakers in Washington. What is more, Mrs. Davis hits it off quite as well with Mrs. Lansing as her husband did with Mrs. Lansing's husband. The Lansings introduced the Davis's to Washington's inner circle. Then Mr. Lansing spoke well of Mr. Davis to Woodrow Wilson. From then on, Mr. Davis's rise was steady and only semi-political in character.

Now the Davis star has turned purely