October 13, 1924

TIME

common sense; they are quite as intelligent as the reactionaries. In fact, the presumption of intelligence is on their side, because a man must be informed before he can protest against an existing wrong and propose a remedy. Anyone can submit to injustice without having any information on the subject at all; in fact, the less information he has, the less liable he is to protest.

"The Democratic Party, under the leadership of John W. Davis, burns the bridges behind it; while the Republican Party, under the leadership of President Coolidge, burns the bridges before it. The Democrats will not turn backward; the Coolidge Republicans will not go forward."

Betting

Not even Wall Street claims that it is infallible, yet the bets on the betting election, registered with brokers there, have their effect upon business confidence and are usually right in the odds prevailing shortly before the presidential contest. In 1908, odds were between 3 to 1 and 5 to 1 on Taft; his popular vote was 7,679,006 to Bryan's 6,409,106. In 1912, odds ranged between 8 to 5 and 5 to 1 on Wilson; his vote was 6,286,214 compared with 4,126,020 for Roosevelt, and 3,483,922 for Taft.

In the exceedingly close election of 1916, odds were between 9 to 5 and 6 to 5 on Hughes, shifting between 6 to 5 and 2 to 1 on Wilson on the day after election. Yet in this case, the trend of betting was generally incorrect-Wilson receiving 9,129,606 votes and Hughes, 8,538,221.

In 1920, however, the odds on Harding ran between 10 to 1 and 21⁄2 to 1; Harding received 16,152,200 votes against 9,147,353 for Cox, All this summer, odds have been keenly in favor of Coolidge for reëlection and, thus far during the fall, they have grown heavier upon him as election day nears.

SUPREME COURT

Oh Yes, Oh Yes, Oh Yes

Into the onetime Senate chamber in the north wing of the Capitol came nine men, just back from their summer vacations. They were the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the U. S. Supreme Court. They looked at the docket and their faces fell.

Yes, there were 644 cases on the docket, including 25 cases under advisement and awaiting decision. This was about 50 more cases than awaited the Court when it assembled a year ago.

But the Chief Justice's smile could not be dimmed for long. Year by year, the docket grows longer. But it also grows interesting. This fall, the Court will treat itself to hearings on the Pennsylvania Anthracite Coal Tax, the Kansas Industrial Law and the case of Mal Daugherty, who denied the right of a Senate Committee to examine the books of his National Bank.

A NEW BOOK Gubernatorial Spoon River*

The popular way to look at politicians is as the knaves of the human deck. But Frederick L. Collins, veteran journalist, has gone out and captured 14 of them in the gubernatorial stage and labeled them Our American Kings. Mr. Collins isn't a Lytton Strachey, but he doesn't aim to be. He went to take notes on the personalities and home life of Governors in their official habitats and he did so with good-natured appreciation:

Alfred E. Smith of New York. "After dinner, in the study with the men, Al Smith was at his best. He is a great actor; not a heel comedian like Willie Collier, who stands in one spot and gets his effect, but an all-over-thelot acrobatic performer like Douglas Fairbanks. He gets out on the floor and acts out his scenes, puts his hands on the arms of your chair, shakes his fist at an imaginary enemy, and sinks into exhausted laughter at the end of his own story. His best ones were about prohibition and the Ku Klux Klan."

E. F. Morgan of West Virginia. "The big man laughed all over, dislodging two heavy wisps of white hair, hich he kept pushing straight back from his round young face. During the days I spent with Governor Morgan at Charlestown, in his office and in his home, he never got those two wisps to stay where he put them. They represent, I should say, the two most worrisome problems of his otherwise unruffled life."

Ragnvald A. Nestos of North Dakota. "When he sits on a chair he obliterates it; he throws back his great shoulders, spreads his elbows and knees, settles and solidifies as if he were a statue in the park. He looks like Henry Ward Beecher with a touch of Barnum and a clout or two of John L. Sullivan. He is Paul Whiteman with a Babe Ruth punch. He is an American viking."

Albert C. Ritchie of Maryland. "He was tall, straight, vigorously impressive; a gray-haired John Barrymore with eye-glasses; or rather John Barrymore as he might have looked if he had gone in for real estate or automobiles instead of for Shakespeare. He moved quickly and spoke brightly, as if he were in the advertising business. A little too handsome, a little too slim-waisted -and much too busy."

A. Victor Donahey of Ohio. "He wanted me to come to breakfast. . . I wasn't sure, then, that I liked Dona

...

• OUR AMERICAN KINGS Frederick L. Collins-Century ($2.50).

"Mrs. Donahey is a peach. She's had twelve children-ten are living-and she's listened to Vic's banging since 1897. . . ."

J. A. O. Preus of Minnesota. "But Jake doesn't laugh at politics. He takes

it as seriously as most people take mah jong; and he plays the game day and night. 'He's the best d- office-holder in the world,' one of his political opponents told me. He never leaves his desk until everything is cleaned up and in good shape. Then he'll go out and address 40 million picnics, and arrive at every one on time. When it comes to political meetings, Jake's a regular Paul Revere."

John Blaine of Wisconsin. "At the election in November, Blaine of Boscobel received 336,000 votes; his opponent a little more than 100,000!

""That's a great record!' I exclaimed.

"What? Mine?' laughed the Governor. 'That's nothing compared with Calamity's-Calamity Mechtilde De Kol, I mean-why, her record shows 28 pounds of butter in seven days, and if she hadn't been such a delicate feeder'

"John,' put in Mrs. Blaine sweetly, 'Mr. Collins came to see us, not our cows.'

"And I never did hear about Calamity's indigestion."

Percival Baxter of Maine. "The Bachelor. Governor is a character.

Tall, strong and pink. Forty-six or 47 in the record books, but much younger with his hat on. 'Just a nice age!' as one Maine woman expressed it. Rich, too. It's a shame he isn't married. But I looked vainly in his office and study and bedroom for a sign of an impending romance. On his desk are 23 ivory images,-dogs, elephants, lions, rabbits, ducks, lizards, eagles, horses, cats and one 'hanatonosawaemikaarima'-but no women."

Gifford Pinchot of Pennsylvania. "Mrs. Pinchot's blue slippers and silken ankles appeared at the top of the stairs -quite the smartest slippers and the nicest ankles I have ever seen in an Executive Mansion. As she descended rapidly, drawing on an Egyptian sweater over her American house-dress, I could see that she was tall, like her

husband, and slender, too; but of stately slenderness-not a lanky one like Gifford's. . . . She is a beautiful woman, Cornelia Pinchot, with a strong body and a stronger face, and a deep, room-filling voice which manages somehow to be inconsistently feminine; and she is not afraid to be intelligent. I liked her. But, then, I am no judge. I always did like red-haired women."

George Silzer of New Jersey. "George Silzer has brains-enough to be a lawyer and a judge, enough to amass a considerable fortune; he has a character-enough to be a big man in the legal, financial and religious life of his State; he has culture-enough to talk

easily and colorfully of men and affairs in the new and old worlds; he has charm-enough to command not only the franchise of his fellow-citizens but their insistent demand that he leave his chosen work to become their Chief Executive."

A. J. Groesback of Michigan. 66 "... is one of three best Governors upon whom I have stumbled in my gubernatorial marathon from coast to coast. . . .

"He pulls his black hat upon his bullet-like head, clamps the brim over his heavy eyebrows, sinks his neck into his back, and squares off his great shoulders as if he were going to hit you in the jaw. Then he's ready to say 'Good morning.'

Pat M. Neff of Texas.

You'd never think I'd take a drink.
I haven't.

You'd never think I'd take a smoke.

I haven't.

You'd never think I'd shoot a gun.

I haven't.

You'd never think I'd bait a hook.
I haven't.

You'd never think I'd any fun.
I haven't.

""The first two charges were true,' he told me, as we walked under the shade-trees from the Capitol to the Governor's mansion. 'I don't smoke. And I don't drink. Not even coffee or tea. Just water and milk.'"

Friend W. Richardson of California, "As he talks, especially as he becomes interested in one of his favorite topics-economy, for instance-he looks out at you from under extraor dinarily heavy eyebrows, and his eyes snap and his brows twitch. He buries superficial crudities under a river of picturesque language, which flows from a mountain of facts. Suddenly, you de think that he's the Governor, and you understand how it is that in the end he 'gets' 'em."

Louis Hart of Washington. "Firs: he was a lawyer; then an insurance agent; for 14 years he was secretary of the Odd Fellows in the State of Washington. He joined the Maccabees and the Elks, the Masons and the Red Men, the Ancient Order of United Workmen; in fact, he joined everything that came to Washington. He never made any money, but he made a lot of friends. He became 'Brother Hart' to thousands of his fellow-citizens. And after a while he loomed up as a good man to have as LieutenantGovernor. But nobody thought of running Louis Hart for Governor-and nobody ever would-if Governor Lister hadn't taken ill and abdicated, leaving the office to easy-going Louis."

THE LEAGUE

Teeth

"A League with teeth in it" has long been the battle cry of those who are dissatisfied with the present League of Nations structure. Last week's closure of the Fifth General Assembly of the League of Nations at Geneva, in which 55 nations took part, showed that the teeth have begun to grow.

Unrest. It is a fact that, with the downfall of the Central Empires at the conclusion of the War, occurred the downfall of Europe. The whole Continent needed regeneration. What was the new Europe to be like? The signs and portents were that it would not differ materially from the old. France, with enlightening logic, impinged on the cornerstone. "I must have security," said Marianne.* Then Britain and the U. S. declined to sign an alliance with France to protect her against aggressive warfare. The builders of the edifice caught the cry of France. "Security," called CzechoSlovakia. "Security," reëchoed the small nations of the earth. "Disarmament," voiced the idealists. Then the gruff roar of Great Britain rolled out the word "Arbitration." But the cornerstone remained the only part built of the new Europe that everyone wanted.

A year ago, Lord Cecil became the chief designer of the architectural plans. He drew a scheme (TIME, Aug. 20, 1923), by which nations should be grouped in accordance with They their geographical situation.

were then to conclude treaties, promising each other assistance in case of armed aggression. "Pooh," remarked John Bull, "I don't think much of that." "Blah," grunted Uncle Sam as he folded it up and lit his pipe with it.

The "American Plan." "Now then, gentlemen," was the figurative saying of Prof. James T. Shotwell of Columbia University to the Council of the League of Nations last June, "you are mistaken. What you really ought to do is to outlaw war." Here the Professor's nine coadjutors clapped a hearty endorsement. "American Plan" (TIME, June 30), while by no means a perfect instrument, was the first to have any actual elements in it. For example, it:

The

1) Defined aggression as meaning a concerted action taken by a State in defiance of

Allegorical personification of France. Cr. John Bull, Uncle Sam.

a ruling or summons made by the Permanent Court of International Justice at The Hague. 2) Made that P. C. of I. J. the executor of the plan.

3) Laid down rules for enforcing, in the first place, economic and, in the second place, military sanctions (punitive measures) without in any way infringing upon the sov ereignity of individual nations.

4) Made the plan open to members and nonmembers of the League.

5) Provided for periodical conferences on disarmament.

In the Halls of Peace at Geneva, the American Plan received marked favor; for it had been read by every statesman in Europe worthy of the name, and all found it good.

Fifth Assembly. When the Fifth General Assembly met at Geneva (TIME, Sept. 8) it had many matters of routine to dispose of. There were thorny problems to solve; but all these things were as nothing compared to the task, which had been set, of drafting a plan for the building of new Europe and the renovation of the rest of the world. Two great speeches from Premiers Ramsay MacDonald of Britain and Edouard Herriot of France indicated that the building was to be in the style of arbitration, security and disarmament. The chief draftsman was no longer Lord Cecil; Dr. Eduard Benes was the man nominated for the post; and his ideas were largely synonymous with those of Prof. Shotwell and his colleagues.

There was already a plan in existence aiming at the maintenance of world peace ad infinitum. This document was called the Covenant of The League. The new ideas, it was decided, should not interfere with the Covenant, but should reinforce it. A protocol to the Covenant was the method adopted of putting the new ideas into effect. It was early decided to reserve the matter of disarmament for a special international conference to be convoked at Geneva on June 15, 1925.

in the name of France, that she has placed upon the protocol her signature."

Forty-seven states followed France's lead in signing the protocol; all of them had something high and idealistic to say.

Protocol Analyzed. Analyzed, the protocol is an elaboration of the "American Plan" submitted by Professor Shotwell and his associates. Thus, it is somewhat of a paradox that the nation which has, perhaps, contributed more to the theoretical banishment of war is the U. S., which is not a member of the League. The protocol is based on the principle of obligatory arbitration. Members and non-members of the League can endorse its terms; all become aggressors if they either fail to take their dispute to the League or ignore a League or P. C. of I. J. ruling. The Council of the League is empowered to exert economic, financial, naval and military sanctions against any aggressor nation, member or non-member alike. The amount of economic, financial, naval or military support to be given by the member nations, in the case of what might prove to be a League war, depends upon the amount of assistance demanded by the Council and upon the amount the member states are able or willing to concede.

Before the Assembly closed, Japan carried an important eleventh hour amendment. The League may, according to its terms, consider matters "solely within domestic jurisdiction" of a state. Thus a state under this amendment, is an aggressor only if it disregards the verdict of the League or has not previously submitted the question to the Council or Assembly." This means (theoretically) that the U. S. must now bow to the decisions of the League or challenge the whole League Army. "Either there are to be no wars or future wars are to be bigger and better in every way." Other business transacted before the Fifth Assembly adjourned:

Belgium, Brazil, Czecho-Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and Uruguay were elected to the non-permanent seats on the Council for the year 1924-25. When the result of the elections was made known, the entire Chinese delegation arose as one man, left the auditorium. They thought that, as China is one of the greatest Asiastic Powers, she ought at least to be entitled to a seat on the Council.

COMMONWEALTH

(British Commonwealth of Nations) Censure

In Parliament, strenuous efforts were made by the Conservatives and the Liberals in preparation for causing the downfall of the Labor Government by carrying votes of censure.

Conservatives. The Conservatives decided to move a vote of censure condemning the Government for abandoning prosecution for sedition against J. R. Campbell, acting Editor of the Communist daily, The Workers' Weekly.*

Liberals. The Opposition brought a number of questions concerning Russian affairs to the attention of the Government. Ex-Premier Asquith's motion for the rejection of the AngloRussian Treaty was also laid upon the table. The motion read:

That this House will be ready to support any practical and businesslike steps for promoting Anglo-Russian trade and for protecting British interests in Russia and to approve the use of export credits and trade facilities for assisting trade with Russia on the same terms as with other foreign countries and our dominions; and, while welcoming a definition of fishing areas and fishing rights on the Russian coast, it is unable to approve the treaty which, instead of providing a genuine contribution toward solving the problem of unemployment, threatens to divert resources which are urgently needed for national and imperial development; and which, amongst other objections, contemplates that the British taxpayers should be made liable for further loans to the Russian State, raised by means of the guarantee of the British Government as a condition upon which any part of the private claims of certain British creditors should be recognized or met by the Soviet Republic.

During the season, when a statement was read saying that the Prime Minister had announced that he would be no party to increasing his own salary as First Lord of the Treasury†, Sir

*On July 25. The Workers' Weekly published an article entitled An Open Letter to the Fighting Forces. This letter was virtually an incitement to mutiny. Sailors, soldiers, airmen were advised "to form committees in every barracks, aerodrome and ship, to refuse to shoot down your fellow workers, to refuse to fight for profits and to turn your weapons on your oppressors." They were told: "The next war is being prepared; and you will be sent to shoot, shell or bomb French or American workers in uniform. You are workers yourselves. Why do it?"

J. R. Campbell was arrested on Aug. 5 and charged at Bow Street Police Court with inciting mutiny. The trial was scheduled for Aug. 13, but the Public Prosecutor offered no evidence and the case was dismissed.

It was alleged that "for the first time in England's history, the course of Justice in the law courts had been changed by outside political forces." Sir Patrick Hastings, Attorney General, questioned in the House, said that the case was dropped because Campbell was a responsible editor and therefore conviction appeared to be unlikely. That he did not wish to dignify the Communisists by martyring them was the follow-up he offered.

Conservative and Liberal newspapers joined forces in denouncing the Government's action in interfering with the course of Justice.

† Premiers of Britain usually hold the office of First Lord of the Treasury jointly with that of the Premiership. The Premiership is unpaid and Premiers have to depend upon other office for salary. Premier MacDonald is also Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, but does not receive any pay as such.

some

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Kingsley Wood, Conservative, gratuitously asked: ". . . whether before that decision was arrived at, consideration was given to the fact that the present holder of the office had found the emoluments of his office insufficient and

had to go to a private concern?" (TIME, Sept. 22).

"Dirty! Dirty!" cried angry Laborites, shaking their fists.

"Dave" Kirkwood, fiery Clydeside Laborite, stretched his index finger and pointed with scorn to the rash knight: "That," said he, "is a gentleman"; and there was no mistaking the grinding

sarcasm.

The hubbub grew wilder and wilder until the Speaker arose. "I must insist," he warned the Laborites, "on honorable members allowing me to conduct the business of the House. I will not continue unless I have proper support." He then rebuked Sir Kingsley for having put a supplementary question which could not appear on the paper.

The Conservative motion was considered almost certain of defeat and the Liberals were expected to support the Government. But on the issue of the Anglo-Russian Treaty, the Conservatives and Liberals agreed; neither will support the Government. The Treaty was, however, not expected to come up for debate until November; and the indications were, despite the antipathy to a general election, that the Cabinet of Mr. James Ramsay MacDonald would fall and that the King would dissolve Parliament.

Zaghlul Departs

"What terrible weather you English have," said Egyptian Premier Zaghlul Pasha to Premier MacDonald.

"Yes," replied MacDonald, "the political elements always get aroused about this time of the year." "I think I must go now. Your soldiers in Cairo will be expecting me back."

"Well, I'm terribly sorry I couldn't do anything for you. Come again sometime when we're having better weather."

It was reported from London that the Anglo-Egyptian conversations* between Premier MacDonald and Zaghlul (TIME, Oct. 6) had broken down. The latter was unable to obtain any concessions from the British Premier, so, "in view of the in

Lords and Commons assembled at Westminster to pass legislation that is to authorize the Government to appoint a delegate for Northern Ireland on the Irish Boundary Commission (TIME Aug. 11, Oct. 6).

Second Reading. The second reading (the first was before Parliament adjourned) of the Irish Boundary Commission Amending Bill was moved by Premier MacDonald. He said in his speech that "everything would be done" to bring about a compromise between the Free State and Northern Ireland before the bill became law. Meanwhile, he contended, the measure must be passed because Britain's honor was at stake. Then, paying a pretty compli ment to the Conservatives, he asseyerated:

"The fact that recently there has been no party decision on Irish affairs is an immense achievement, which has been mainly due to the Unionists; because. in the face of real difficulties, they have made it easy for the Government to follow the policy they initiated in the pacification of Ireland."

After speeches by ex-Premier George and ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer Austen Chamberlain, the bill passed its second reading by 291 to 124 votes.

Committee. The House went into committee; and the bill was read for a third time and carried by a vote of 251 to 99. The bill was sent to the Lords.

Lords. The House of Lords was expected to amend the bill and send it back to the Commons. This is to give the Conservatives a chance to vote for the amendments (which have no chance of being carried), thereby placing the responsibility for the bill entirely on the shoulders of the Government. The bill is then to be sent back to the House of Lords in its original form; but their lordships, satisfied that the onus of responsibility is not shared by Conservatives, will pass the bill, which will then

become law after the Royal Assent has been obtained.

That the Irish crisis will, however, be intensified by the passage of the Boundary Amendment Act was the opinion of competent observers.

Whatever the decision of the Boundary Commission may be, it will fail to please Northern Ireland, unless the Commission confirms the boundary as it is at present delimited. In the latter case, the Free State will probably revolt against the Government. However, the finding of the Commission is much more likely to be one that will please neither side. In this event, Northern Ireland will appeal to the Privy Council on the ground that the decision of the Commission was ultra vires. The issue will then be up to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, whose decision will be final, because it is the highest court of appeal in the realm.

Budget

FRANCE

M. Etienne Clementel, Minister of Finance and le Senateur de Puy-deDôme, presented to the Finance Committee of the Chamber of Deputies the budget for 1925. A feature of the new proposals is the retention of Premier Poincaré's hated 20% tax increase (TIME, Jan. 28). No loan was suggested, although it had been widely circulated that one would be asked for.

Expenditures reached the record figure of 32,500,000,000 francs (about $1,700,000,000); receipts amounted to only 26,500,000,000 francs (about $1,400,000,000). The difference-about 6,000,000,000 francs-is to be met by rigorous enforcement of the income tax law and the imposition of a new tax on land values.

Included in the expenditure column is 700,000,000 francs (about $37,000,000) for increased pay for state employes (one fourth of what they asked); the cost of the year's reconstruction of the devastated regions; 1,000,000,000 francs ($53,000,000) to take care of obligations maturing during the fiscal year.

It was claimed that France would have, for the first time in ten years, a balanced budget. That was not entirely the truth. Among the credits appeared an item of 800,000,000 francs (about $42,500,000) expected from the Germans under the Experts' Plan. In the past, France has theoretically balanced her budgets by crediting payments from Germany that were never made. The present budget is following a precedent, not creating one.

The

Finance repeated the well-known proverb: "Don't count your chickens before they are hatched."

In his speech to the Committee, M. Clementel said:

"It marks the end of the policy of raising loans to meet normal chargesa policy which threatens to engulf France in financial quicksands. Once the deficits due to previous budgets have been regulated by a loan of liquidation, any appeal to the national thrift must have but one object-consolidation of the floating debt and completion of the restoration of the devastated region. . . .

"Thanks to the plan of the experts and the London Agreement, France can today hope to see Germany at last execute the engagements she has solemnly taken. The Allies will watch over the execution of these engagements. Germany's payments are steadily growing and henceforth are definitely fixed. They should, when the plan is fully working [in about two years], provide funds for the redemption of war loans and permit a policy of financial reformation that will gradually give our national money back its value and so reduce the cost of living."

Prosperity

A reprint in The Living Age from the Report of the British Commercial Counselor at Paris upon the present

economic condition of France made the following points:

"The entire population of France is in full employment.

"Production has been consistently retarded by the dearth of labor; and, for the last year, more than 6,000 immigrant workers have been arriving every week.

"For all practical purposes of mere industrial output, the reconstruction of the devastated areas is terminated.

"The total coal output of the damaged or destroyed mines will soon exceed the pre-War figure.

"The yearly production of coke is now nearly two million tons more than in 1913."

German Trade Parley

Representatives of France and Germany met at the Quai d'Orsay (French Foreign Office) to negotiate a trade treaty.

These negotiations are made necessary by the termination, next January, of the trade relations between the two countries as expressed in the Treaty of Versailles. Their importance may be considerable. On both sides are men who avowedly sponsor a great steel trust. In France's Lorraine are found Europe's greatest iron deposits; in Germany's Ruhr Valley are the greatest deposits of coal. An agreement to abolish the duties upon iron ore entering Germany and upon coal entering France would have but one effect: France and Germany would be able to undersell their foreign steel competitors.

GERMANY

Cabinet Crisis

Chancellor Wilhelm Marx was confronted with the greatest political enigma that has yet crossed the threshold of his career.

At the time that the Experts' Plan legislation was passed by the Reichstag (TIME, June 16), support from the moderate Monarchists was obtained by promising them seats in the Cabinet. The greatest supporter of this compromise was Dr. Gustav Stresemann, Foreign Minister and leader of the Volkspartei (People's Party). He argued that the inclusion of the Monarchists was most desirable from every standpoint: First, the Government should honor its promise; and second, Mon