News Review of Current
Events the World Over
Germany*# Financial Plight Worries All Other Nations ?
Hearings on Railway Freight
Kate Increase Begun.
By EDWARD W. PICKARD
117 MILE all -lie
* ? world looked on
wl?b anxious Interest.
Germany was plunged
Into h financial crisis
that threatened the
country with utter
economic collapse and
made possible even
the subversion of the
government. Delay In
acceptance of the
Hoover moratorium by
France had resulted
in t lie withdrawal of
vast sums from the German banks,
the conversion of these funds into
foreign currency and its removal from
the country. The big Darmstaedter
und National hank closed Its doors,
primarily because of heavy losses sus
tained through the failure of Ger
many's largest wool-combing concern.
It. Hans Luther, president of the
Reichsbank, rushed from Berlin to
London and theuce to Paris, seeking
aid. The French government refused
to participate in a loan to the Reichs
bank unless Germany would agree to
conditions which Berlin regarded as
Impossible of acceptance. These in
cluded suspension of the po< ket bat
tleship building program, abandon
ment of the Austro-Gertnan customs
onion, further credit restrictions in
Germany and relinquishment of any
hope of regaining Danzig and the
Danzig corridor. President von Hin
denburg aud his ministers said they
would resign rather than submit to
these demands.
Luther then flew to Basel and laid
the case before the Bank for Inter
national Settlements and representa
tives of American, British and French
banks. Gates \V. McGarrah, American
president of the B. I. 8., announced
that the directors of that institution
had agreed to renew its participation
In the rediscount credit of $100,000,
000 accorded to the Itelchshank June
2.r? and due on July 15. This credit
wnt advanced Jointly by the Federal
Reserve bank of the United States,
tike Bank of France, the Bank of Eng
land and the world hank. The sum
was welcome to Luther but it was
only a drop In the bucket which he
had to till.
George W.
McGarrah
*?-?
Meanwhile the
German govern
ment ordered all
banks closed for two
days, shut up the
stork exchanges for a
week and decreed a
two-day moratorium.
It thus checked the
exodus of capital and
the transfer of marks
Into foreign currencies
or M'urltle* for the Hjn> Luther
time being. 1 here was
some rioting, but In general the Ger
man people exhibited the calmness of
despair. The authorities cannot be
lieve that America and the other na
tions of Europe would permit the In
solvency of Germany, and the decree
Issued by President von Hlndenburg
stressed the fact that the crisis was
largely metaphysical and due to lack
of public confidence.
At the suggestion of the French
government, an important conference
was held in Paris Saturday and Sun
day, the chief participants from other
nations being Chancellor Brueningand
Foreign Minister Curtius of Germany,
Foreign Secretary Henderson of Eng
land and Secretary Stimson of the
United States. This was a prelim
inary to a conference In London called
lor July 110 by the British govern
ment. To represent the United States
at the latter President Hoover desig
nated Secretaries Stimson and Mellon.
It was understood they would not
concern themselves with matters of
Kuropeen politics, and Mr. Stimson
Already had explained that this gov
ernment could not participate in a
loan to Germany, that matter resting
entirely with the federal reserve and
private banks.
President Hoover kept In close
touch with the German situation ?.?ut
It was the official view In Washing
ion that Germany must help herself
by strong measures and that In the
matter of outside assistance Europe
must take the lead. Mr. Hoover took
the position that in bringing about
the moratorium he had done all that
tie legitimately and properly could do.
France refuses to be abashed by the
attacks on her apparent harshness
toward Germany. She holds that her
demands are folly Justified and that
they tend to promote the cause of
world disarmament and to ascure se
? urity for Europe In general and
France in particular.
T NVEST1GATK >N was ordered by Soc
*? rotary of Commerce Lamont into
charges made by I?r. Kay O. Ilall that
lie had heen dismissed from the de
partment for protecting against falsi
fication of the recently issued report
on the "balance of international pay
ments." Ilall, who prepared most of
of the report, alleged figures were Jug
gled and deletions made to suit "politi
cal expediency.*' He paid particularly
th.*u a comment to t he effect that Im
pending tariff legislation possibly was
in part responsible for merchandise
Imports holding up relatively well dur
ing the first half of the fiscal year
1930 had been omitted in the publica
tion.
The point he had endeavored to
bring out and which, he said, was
omitted, was that, in anticipation of
higher tariff rates later, foreign ship
pers had sent greater quantities of
goods to this country during the first
part of the fiscal year than otherwise
would have be<?n the case.
O AILWAY officials,
shippers and oth
er Interested persons
gathered in Washing
ton for the hearings
before the Interstate
Commerce commission
on t lie application of
l he railroads for an
increase of 15 per
rent in rates on all
freifc'ui t raffle. It is
Ezra Brainerd, one <?f the bluest
jr. questions that Chair
man Ezra Brainerd,
Jr., and his fellow commissioners have
had to haudle for soioe time. There
was no disposition to question the
fact that the railroads are in a sad
financial plight. The problem Is to
find the remedy. In the first five
months of this year the class one
railroads had a net railway operating
income of $18S.387,587, or i!.10 per
cent on their property investment, and
44 of the 171 roads operated at a
loss, of which 14 were in the eastern,
6 in the southern, and 24 in the west
ern district.
Conforming to the wish of Presi
dent Hoover, that existing wage
scales be maintained, the roads are
seeking an increase of revenue in In
creased rates, but their executives
have made It plain that if this Is not
granted, wages will have to come
down. Many shippers have let the
commission know that they favor the
latter alternative, asserting that they
cannot bear higher transportation
charges. President Hoover has tak
en no part in the controversy, but
Secretary of Agriculture Hyde has
publicly asked the commission to take
Into consideration the fact that while
the revenue of the railroads dropped
16 per cent last year, the revenue of
I the farmers dropped 20 per cent ; that
farm prices are down to pre-war lev
els, while freight rates are relatively
1 high ; that with many products taxes,
manufacturing costs, and railroad
S rates can be passed on to the consum
ere, but that the farmer cannot pass
his costs on.
In an efTort to determine whether
certain practices of the railroads are
consistent with "economical and effi
cient management," the Interstate
commerce commission announced that
It would conduct an investigation on
its own motion Into practices of car
riers which affect their operating rev
enues and expenses.
Among the practices the commis
sion Is Investigating are prices paid
for railroad fuel and the handling of
coal at tidewater ports, lake coal,
private freight cars, the spotting of
cars at industries and the construc
tion and maintenance of sidings for
shippers.
SOVIET Russia has taken another
step In Its return toward old-time
ways. It has been decreed by the
people's com^nisslarlat for agriculture
that payment to workers on Russia's
collective farms shall henceforth be
made only on the basis of quality and
quantity of work performed. The meas
ure Is designed to Increase the "mate
rial Interestedness" of the farmers
and thus enlarge production.
Heretofore collective farmers have
been paid partly In money from farm
earnings and partly In produce, ac
cording to the size and needs of their
families, many taking their share of
produce at the outset of the harvest.
These facto, a, combined with Inade
quate organization and management
of farms, were cited In tbe decree as
responsible f?r a break In labor
pllne and consequent losses from the
harvest
r^HARLES G. EDWARDS. Democrat.
^ representative in ? ongress of the
First Georgia district. died suddenly
of cerebral hemmorhage in Atlanta. He
mas fifty-three years *.:?! and his home
was in Savannah. Mr. Edwards'
death stores to two the Republican
majority in the house, lie was the
seventh member of that body to die
since the election. The Republicans
now have 215 members to L'Vt f??r the
Democrats and one I ari u-r-Laborite. |
There are only six varan* .es for that
caused by the death of Aw. ell of Lou- I
isiana 1ms been filled M the election j
of another Democrat. John Overton. I
CAPTS. GEORGE ENDRES and
Alexander Magyar o' the Hun
garian army made a ? .c-kable non
stop flight from liar ? r Gr.oe, N. F?
to within 14 miles of 1'. ;:ap??t. That
city was their goal but tiovr fuel ran
out just before it was r. a- hed.
Joseph Lebrlx and Marcel Do
ret. two famous i .-r; aviators,
set out on a non-stop flight from I'aris
to Tokyo, hoping to make the 6.<?n)
miles In 02 hours. They were making
good progress when they were forced
down In Siberia 310 rn!?-s from Ir
kutsk. The plane was ruined ami Le
brix was slightly Injured.
'TMIREE Independent investigators,
4 after a tour of the Pennsylvania
Ohio coal fields, where the miners are
on strike, declared that "the people of
Pittsburgh are entirely unapprecia
tlve of the gravity of the situation.
If they do not awaken soon they will
shortly find themselves faced with a
civil strife unparalleled In the coai
Industry.
The Investigators were Dr. Colston
E. Warne of Amherst college. Dr. Wil
liam L. Nunn of New York university
and Mauritz Hellgrin. associate editor
of the publication The Nation.
CHILE has a new cabinet headed by
Pedro Blanquler who, besides be
ing premier, is minister of finance.
Rlanquler was formerly finance and
public works minister, as well as di
rector of the state railways. He Is re- j
garded as an efficient technical man
and it >? believed In Santiago that
he can find the remedy for the precari- [
ous state of Chilean finances.
ONE more report from the Wicker
Sham commlssiorf- has been made
public. It deals with methods of crim
inal procedure, and an interesting
paragraph denounces as "shocking to
one's sense of justice" the laws under
which the famous Mooney-RIIIings
case was conducted. The commission
cites the case arising from the 1910
preparedness day bombing in San
Francisco as one in which motions for
a new trial "were held inadequate to
prevent Injustice." It makes no direct
recommendation, however, that the
case be reopened.
In the body of its report, signed by
ten of the eleven members, the com
mission concludes that blame should
be laid at the door of "Incompetent,
or politics-ridden judges" for much of
the general complaint against this
country's criminal procedure.
Monte M. I.emann, New Orleans
lawyer who declined to sign the com
mission's prohibition report, likewise
refused to sign this document. He
charges that the report was made
without sufficient research to bcck up
the conclusions reached.
VIRTUALLY t h e
father of the
army air service.
Brig. Gen. Benjamin
D. Foulois, will next
December, reap the
reward of his long
and earnest labors.
The War department
announced his promo
tion to succeed Maj.
Gen. James E. Fechet
as chief of the army . _ , ,
? ' Gen. Foulois
air corps, effective
December 20, when General Fechet*?
term expires. Foulois will then become
a major general, lie was one of the
pioneers In the development of avia
tion through association with the
Wright brothers. He flew the first
airplane and the first dirigible balloon
purchased for the army, and In 1910,
when the appropriation for the air
service was only $150, he contributed
$300 from his own pay to make up a
deficit. He organized the first flying
unit the army ever had. As assistant
chief of the corps he supervised the
gigantic air maneuvers along the At*
lantlc coast last May.
ALBERT B. FALL, former secre
tary of the Interior, was ordered
by the Department of Justice to be
committed to the New Mexico peni
tentiary to serve out the term to
which he was sentenced on his con
viction in the Elk Hills bribery case.
In order that Fall, because of incipi
ent tuberculosis, might serve his term
In the Southwest, his sentence of a
year in Jail was changed to a year
and a day by Justice Jennings Bailey
of the District of Colombia Supreme
court
Uft. nil. Wntva N**iMD?r Unloa.)
Across Afghanistan,
Motor Car of Trans-Asia Expedition.
<Pr?; by the Nr.r:..oal (ivocripWe
{-?xit-ti, WashiiiKton D C- ?
T.SIA VKIJNG along a route made
famous by Alexander the Great
twenty-two and a half <?'uturies
ago. the Trans-Asia expedition
has Just crossed isolated Afghanistan
fr??rn west to east. The expedition,
with which the National Geographic
society is co-operating, found tin* car
avan trucks in poor condition for
wheeled vehicles in many places ; but
even the worst stretches were traversed
with relative ease by rhe spe<i:il ears
equipped witl. a tanklike band drive
in place of rear wheels.
The three major stops in Afghani
stan were made at Herat, metropolis
of t l?e western part of the kingdom*.
Kandahar, in the south; and Kabul,
rhe capital, in the east.
To locate distant Herat on the world
map an American may start lu knowu
territory at Knoxville. Tenn. A line
drawn due east will almost bisect
Herat, seventy miles from the west
ern Afghan border.
No one knows how Ion;: Herat has
been dominating the broad plain in
which it Is situated. itemains of
buildings strewns over the plaiu near
by were ancient to the ancients. Al
exander the Great is credited with the
building of the Herat walls, if that
is a fact, Herat is at leas: two thou
sand two hundred and fifty years old.
A sort of hub for caravan routes
leading to many parts of central Asia,
and one of the so-called doorways to
India by land. Herat has been a tempt
ing "plum" for rulers of nearby coun
tries and imperial strategists of the
eastern hemisphere bent upon annex
ing portions of southern Asia to their
domains.
Herat Often Besieged and Taken.
As a result its 25-foot walls sur
mounted by 1"?0 towers, have withstood
many sieges, but it also has often fall
en before attack. In the Thirteenth
century Genghis Khan and his horde
of Mongols swept down upon the city,
leaving only a half hundred of its hun
dreds of thousands of inhabitants
alive; and these survived only because
they feigned death. One hundred and
fifty years later Tamerlane, no less
merciless, nearly duplicated the an
nihilation.
The Persians frequently took Herat
and remained In control for many
years at a time. Today Persian blood
rtows in the veins of about one-half of
the Herat is. In 1837, some B-^.OOO
Persians set out to take Herat. After
a siege of ten months, the Heratls,
with the help of British forces, defeat
ed the Persians. Herat then became
an independent city, but in 1S61 a
quarrel between the rulers of Herat
and Afghanistan resulted in the city's
passing of the latter.
Despite frequent revolts and attacks,
Herat continues to rank with the
greet cities of central Asia. Frequent
rebuilding of ttie city within the walls
has brought little change to Its peo
ple and daily life. No railroad ap
proaches nearer than 80 miles; the
telegraph key has never clicked with
in the city's walls. Unsightly ancient
graveyards outside the walls have
been put in order, new defense works
I have been built, and a new extension
of the city with broad streets flanked
! by modern shops Is rising outside of
I the north wall ; but the original moat,
45 feet wide and 10 feet deep, still Is
I there today as it was centuries ago.
Inside the walls Heratls live In low
mud and sun-dried brick buildings as
did their ancestors. The streets are
mere passageways. They are play
grounds for children and stages for
debate by bewhlskered, beturbaned
men.
Hard Route to Kandahar.
South and ea?t of Herat the expe
dition encountered difficult terrain
over which few motor cars have
passed. Many swift streams had to be
forded and three mountain ranges
crossed. The only major river encoun
tered, the Helmand, had to be crossed
by means of an ancient ferry. The
transfer of the 21 cars, trailers and
tracks across the Helmand consumed
two days.
To Kandahar, Important trade cen
ter of southern Afghanistan, caravan
roads converge from several gateways
into Persia from Turkestan, from
Herat and Kabul In Afghanistan, and
fram Baluchistan and India. Ceog
rapliy has given it trade value f. two
millenniums.
The town lies on a level plain i,e
twc< n two rivers, the Tamak and Ar
ghandib. To the north and nortl.iast
lie barren hills, but south and west
of the city the plain Is Irrigated by nu
merous canals and is highly productive
and thickly settled. This lrri,*at?d
hind about Kandahar is one of tie
best fruit growing regions of the Mid
dle East, Peaches, apricots, grapes,
tigs, melons, and pomegranates j:n.w
to perfection. Fruits, both fresh and
dried, make up prominent Items la
the city's exports.
A ditch and a mud-brick wall ex
tending for more than three miles sur
round Kandahar. Outside the east
gate is a large caravansary where are
often to he found huge stores of wool
and other products destined for India.
Kandahar shows its trade Impor
tance and the cosmopolitan character
of its 31.<VKJ inhabitants in Its bazaars.
Hindu. Afghan, Persian, and Balu<hi
merchants handle goods from Europe,
Central Asia, Turkestan, and India.
The Hindu merchants predominate and
are shipping agents as well. Their
outgoing caravans carry, in addition
to wool and dried fruits, evil-smelling
asafetida for the drug trade, indiffer
ent tobacco, madder for the outside
world's paint tubes and dye vats. - Ik,
and cleverly carved prayer beads for
devout Moslems from Java to Mo
i occo.
Kast and north of Kandahar better
roads were encounter!*! than those of
eastern Afghanistan, and the expedi
tion had little difficulty in reaching
Kabul. It found that the ambitious
modern capital city which former King
Amanullah had almost completed on
the outskirts of Kabul before his visit
to the United States In 192S. is now
deserted. Governmental activities, as
during past centuries, are carried oa
in old Kabul.
Kabul Big and Busy.
Kabul is ^?ne of the three of the toast
known capitals in ?he world t<*!.iy.
The others are Lhasa, capital of Tibet,
and Iliad, capital of the newly recog
nized country, Nedj, in central Arabia.
Kabul granted the Trans-Asia expe
dition permission to enter, but cus
tomarily It hangs out do "welcome"
signs to visitors, distinguished or oth
erwise. The Afghan capital, likf the
rvst of the AsiaD monarchy of which
it is the largest city, asks little from
the outside world, and would like the
attitude reciprocated.
Yet Kabul is far from crude or
primitive. It has electric lights from
a hydroelectric power plant, tele
phones, many automobiles but few
roads, machine shops, munitions
works, and factories for making soap,
shoes, and cloth, all built under Eng
lish supervision. Its tanneries, estab
lished through the co-operation of oat
side experts, are sources of especial
pride.
Kabul Itself is a busy city of about
100,000 people. One can only guess at
the population because the single ef
fort at a census failed before the in
nate exelusiveness of the Afghan.
Ilather than tell their names and ages
so many Kahul residents either left
the city or hid away that business was
disrupted and the census was aban
doned.
Kabul's flat-roof dwellings rise In
sweeping tiers from the banks of the
Kabul river to sun-parched foothills,
7,000 feet above the sea, higher than
the peak of Mt. Mitchell, loftiest of the
Appalachian chain. The peaks of the
Hindu Kush, three times as high. Jut
into the skyline not far away. Hence
Us winters are cold and its summers
mild.
Piano players and phonographs give
the ear an inkling of the home life
of Afghanistan's capital ? a home life
which is screened from the eye by in
terminable mud walls. Probably no
where in the Bast Is the seclusion of
women more complete than in KaboL
The extent of man's walls is the bar
ometer of his social station.
When a western idea finally reaches
the Kabul home the Impact often
leaves a strange anticlimax. The story
in told of one wealthy Kabulian who
would have nothing less than a grand
piano in his home. After many months
it arrived, but minus a bench for the
player. That's all fight," said the
purchaser. "I'm accustomed to sitting
on the floor. Saw off Us lags 1"