The Alamance Gleaner > ? VOL. LVII. GRAHAM, N, C., THURSDAY MAY 28, 1931. NO. 17. News Review of Current j Events the World Over I i ________ , Litvinov, Soviet Commissar, Baits Europe's Statesmen at Geneva?Secretary Doak Denounces Suggested Wage Reduction. By EDWARD W. PICKARD SOVIET RUSSIA, as personified by Maxim Litvinov, Its commissar of foreign affairs, bad the time of Its young life at Geneva where the In ternational commis sion of Inquiry Into B r I a n d' s European union project was sit ting. Litvinov as tounded Arthur Hen derson, Brland, Dtno M. Lltvlnov urandl and the rest of the commis sioners by the calm statement that their "capitalistic" goyernments were raining themselves and the rest of the world by selling goods dear at home and cheap abroad?In other words, by damping. And he then with equal calmness denied flatly that the Soviet government had been guilty of this pernicious practice, though generally accused of It. Kussla, he asserted," had done just a little friendly ex porting. "It Is perfectly obvious that low prices cannot be regarded as indicat ing dumping," he declared. "If, how ever, by dumping Is understood a policy of high monopolist prices In the home markets and cut prices for ex port, It will be found precisely that It la the capitalistic countries* which are 'gollty In this respect." The Soviets, continued the commis sar, are eager to help In bringing to an end the present economic depres sion, and on their behalf be offered two suggestions for the consideration of the commission. The flrst of these kras that the European powers adopt h, convention pledging themselves to compulsory sale In the home markets at prices no higher than on foreign markets. The Soviets, Lltvlnov said, would sign such a convention. Be as serted that It would raise the buying power of the masses and help them absorb overproduction. Bis second proposal was this: In order to remove the atmosphere of pilatrust and Jealousy that has been aggravating the crisis, all nations Should sign a pact of "economic non aggression" along the same lines as the Kellogg pact outlawing war. The 4raft of a protocol of such a pact was submitted to the delegates. It called ibr a general customs truce, among Other things. In the flrst sessions of the com mission tbe question of the proposed J astro-German customs accord ? was ?ought up, and the pact was vigor- | onsly and skilfully defended by Dr. Jbllua Curtius, German foreign mln liter, and Johann Schober, Austrian vice chancellor. The British and French Insisted that the accord should be submitted to the World court for ah opinion as to whether It violated tfce post-war treaties, and the council of the League of Nations ordered this done. Tbe council has selected Arthur Henderson as chairman of tbe 1932 disarmament conference. WBEN the directors of tbe World Bank for International Settle ments met In Basel, Switzerland, they heard from Gates W. McGarrah, Its president, that tbe deposits of the In stitution have gone past the $400,000, 000 mark. This sum Is far In excess of the expectations, and It clearly shows, according to tbe belief there, that the world bank Is becoming something more than a mere depository for the central banks of various nations, so that even If the reparations paymenu should later be put on some other basis, or cease entirely, the bank would still be certain to continue to function. The bank has consented to help In putting the Austrian bank, Credltan stalt, back on Its feet but It was de cided that tbe Initiative must come from the League of Nations committee for control of Austrian loans. IN LONDON the world grain confer ence wae trying to And the remedy for the crisis in the agri cultural world brought oa by the Immense overproduction of wheat Samuel B. Me Keirte, member of the American farm board, told the delegates the Arat thing was to slash screage to con #. R. MeK?lvl? snmptlon needs, ana sanraitieu wc ? salts of a (tody of the situation of Increasing surpluses and falling pel era. Speaking from the American standpoint, he said: "We see no poaal MUtjr of a satisfactory eolation of the ? ? 1 world wheat problem which does not Include, as the most Important single element, curtailment of pfoductlon In exporting countries, Individually and as a whole, until a better adjustment tttween supply and disposition can te effected, and restraint upon fresh expansion of production thereafter." As a material aid toward relieving overburdened markets McKelrle urged every possible means of consumption expansion and suggested abolition by European Importing countries of their protective tariffs, milling regulations and preferential prices for domestic wheat. ' ? ''HERE has been of late much dls cusslon as to whether conditions In the United States Justified a general cut In wages, and what the effect of such a move would be. Secretary of Labor Doak took a hand In the debate with a statement to the effect that any move on the part of Industry to lower wages would be considered a violation of confidence by the admin istration because of the agreement to maintain wage scales which President Hoover obtnlned from the Industrial leaders late In 1920. In the event of wage reductions, he declared, organ ized labor would be Justified In de manding higher pay and In opposing the move by strikes. Mr. Doak added that so far as he knew, no leader of Industry has pro posed a reduction In wages. Such suggestions, he said, have come from bankers, and are based on the opinion that workers' pay should he lowered to conform to the low price levels which have resulted from the depres sion. He attributed the current con troversies between workers and em ployers to the expiration of agree ments, and added that In nearly every case the difficulties have been amic ably settled. Six Impending strikes, which were brought to the attention of the I.abor department the previous week, were averted by the depart ment's conciliation service, and In every case a return to the existing wage scale was effected. HOW the American army Is to be re organized, developed and modernized was described In nn an nouncement by Gen. Douglas MacArthur. chief of stnff. The plans set forth Include extension of mechan ization and motoriza tion throughout the army, the revamping of the' cavnlry arm by the substitution of Qanaral MacArthur fighting machine* for horses, and the development of powerful tank forces to be attached to army corps or field armies, rather than the Infantry, which remains the basic arm. Some cavalry units with horses as mounts will be retained for use In rough country, but In general the horse as a war weapon is discarded. The mechanized force at Kort Eustls will be reorganized a reinforced cav alry regiment. Combat cars, equipped with machine guns and possibly heav ier weapons, which can travel 70 miles an hour on hard roads, are counted on to give the cavalry high mobility. Despite tbe more extensive use of machines, tbe Infantry will remain the backbone of the army according to General MacArthur's program. AS WAS predicted, tbe War De partment has dgclded to abandon wholly or in part 53 surplus forts, camps and reservations. In the list announced by Secretary Hurley are Fort Lincoln, N. D.; Fort lllssoula, Mont.; Fort Eustlz, Va.; Fort D. A. Russell. Texas; Fort Brown, Texas; Fort Hunt, Ta.; Camp Stephen D. Little, Aria,; Camp Garry J. Jones. Ariz.; Miller Field. N. Y.. and Cbanute Field, 111. Of course the abandon ment of these posts may be prevented by Indignant congressmen. HOOVER dam across Boulder canyon of the Colorado river Is within the law and work on the huge project can go ahead. So ruled the Supreme court of the United States In deciding that the act of congress authorizing the construction was con stitutional and dismissing tbe bill of complaint of the state of Arizona. The court, however, declared that Arizona had shown that It might be injured by the distribution of water from the reservoir to be crested and tliaf It therefor* has tbe right to make furth er appeals for relief should Its rights be impaired. In another rase, that of Yetta Stromberg. youthful communist, the Supreme court held Invalid that clauae jf Callfornla'a "red flag" law which makea It a felony to "dlaplay any red flag or other device In any public place or from any building us a sign, symbol or emblem of opposition to organized government or as an Invita tion or stimulus to anarchistic action, or aa an aid to propaganda that Is of a seditious character." The finding declared this clauae was "repugnant to the guarantee of liberty contained In the Fourteenth amendment." CELEBRATING the fiftieth annl versa ry of its birth, the American Ked Cross staged on May 21 what it called "the world's greatest dinner party." Every one of its 3,500 chap ters held* an anniversary dinner In \fj community, and all of thera were con nected up by radio with the main din ner In Washington. At this feast President Hoover, who is also presi dent of the Red Cross, was the prin cipal speaker; and the guest of honor was Judge Max Huher of Geneva, Switzerland, president of the inter national committee of the Red Cross. With them sat cabinet officers and their wives and many other notabil ities. The Post Office department Issued a special commemoration stamp on the anniversary date. POPE PIUS XI, ad dressing a group of Spanish pilgrims, described the burning of churches and other religious edifices In Spain as "sacrileges against God and holy religion." and udded: "While I recognise the abnormal situation In ? Spain, It cannot Justi fy the outrageous deeds carried out by the enemies of God Cardinal Segura that were not suppressed by the authorities." The Vatican, however, Is promoting a policy of conciliation and the papal nuncio, Tedeschini. has hod friendly consultation with Minister of Justice de los Rlos who explained the arrest and expulsion of Bishop Mujica of Vltorla. The nuncio hns expressed sorrow over what has happened, and It is understood in Madrid that he place* much of the blame for the riot ing on the attitude of Cnrdlnnl Segura. the former primate of Spain, who was forced to leave the country been use he would not accept the republic without protest. Cardinal Segura and Bishop Mujica got together at Lourdes, France, and proceeded to Rome for an Indefinite stay. They will probably be told that the Vatican Intends to drop the quar rel with the republic. DEATHS of two Americans at tracted considerable attention. In Tours, France, Brig. Gen. Robert H. Dunlap, a distinguished officer of the marine corpse was killed by a landslide In a heroic effort to save the life of a woman. Ralph Barton, famous cartoonist and Illustrator, com mitted suicide in his New York apart ment, leaving a note that said be feared he was going Insane. DESPITE the rebellions Cantonese, Gen. Chiang Kai-shek Is still the ruler of China, and when the people's convention closed its twelve-day ses sion In Nanking he made an Impres sive plea for nnlty and for co-opera tion with the government In suppresa Ing banditry and communism. The principal achievements of the convention were the adoption of a new constitution, which goes Into effect on June I, the declaration of the republic of China with its permanent capital at Nanking, and the mandate given the government to carry out the terma of the manifesto declaring all unequal treaties between China and foreign powers null and void. FI.YINO men of the United States arm/ had a chance to show what they can do In mass during the week, -for the air forces were mobilized In grand maneuvers at Chicago. New York and elsewhere under the direct command of Gen. B. D. Foulols, dean of the lighting air men. The planes, of all types, concen General B. 0. Foulole ii aicu m ua/iuu, uiiiu, unu uii luura day pot on ? parade and exhibition at Chicago that ?aa the doalng feature of the dty'f Jubilee. Then they de acended on the Atlantic conat and dla played their ability to defend the inetropolla and Roaton from hoatllc at tack. A night bomhlng raid on New York bad been planned, hot General MacArtbur, chief of atalf, vetoed thla. aaaerttng that the maneuvera rep re aented a real attempt to teat oot the defenalve power of the air arm rather than the etaglng f a drcua. Nearly ?even hundred planea took part In the maneuvera. being gathered from aI parta of the country. n m A v ? ? Whltey. "I am so glad to day Is wash day," said Whltey. *1 saw the soiled clothes being scrubbed so hard and hang oat od the line to dry. "Tomorow they 7 111 iron the clothes and then pat them back In the basket all nice ly folded. "Later they win go in the linen room. Ah, saeh Joy." And Whltey purred happily. "Now what la the world do yon > rr> "u n j?j His Name Was Blacky. talk about wash day and ironing day for?" asked Blacky. "I can under stand It when yon talk about mice because I have never known any crea ture so fond of them. *'Of course I like them. too. but you certainly are very. T?T fond of mice ?but not in a way to please the mice exactly V "I don't care for wash day or iron ing day, to tell you the truth," sold Whitey. "I thought not,* said Blacky. "But In a way I do care for them," said Whitey quickly. "Oh?" said Blacky, surprised and puzzled once more. "They are necessary." said Whitey "1 suppose so," said Blacky, "but why do you care about that?" "Well, I like to lie in clean clothes." said Whitey. "Nothing gives me the Joy that the basket of clean clothes does! "At least that la one of the Joys of my cat life. As for the linen closet?well, when they leave the door open I am happy. I love to lie among the white napkins and pillow cases and sheets. "Oh yes, I do." "That's the queerest thing I ever heard." said Blacky. "Well, neighbor Blacky." said Whitey, "the mistress knows this. I've often heard her say that she couldn't leave the clean clothes in the basket alone for a moment as I'd lie in them right away. "And she doesn't often leave the closet door open for she knows how I love the linen closet. "You see I like such luxuries and comforts as clean clothes, all freshly washed and aired and ironed. "That's why I'm never around playing when It Is wasMng and iron ing time. "I'm trying to sw If I can get In the clean clothes and have a luxurl | ous rest and sleep. -That's what Tin trying to do." -Well, you're an odd cat," said Blacky. "And of course it is very lucky that you are white." "Y e s. t h a t's lucky agreed Whl tey. "It wouldn't be so easy for you If you cared about clean w'hite clothes." "I don't believe I'll try It," said Blacky. "IT Just Hi# Nam* Was Whitey. usien 10 you leiung me udoui iu *'I must be off now," said Whitey. "I have an engagement.** ??Oh yes," said Blacky, twisting his whiskers and grinning. Not la Stock Little Marshall was standing in the front yard of his grandmother's home in a small country town watching the different vehicles which were passing In the street, when he saw a wagon drawn by a horse. -Oh, grandma, look! Where do they get horses? Do they have to buy them?" he asked. When grandmother answered: "Of course, Marshall.** He was thoughtful for a few minutes and then remarked: "Well, that's fnnny. I never did see any in the stores uptown!" Not What Teacher Meant The schoolmaster was explaining fo his class of small boys the nature of vulgar fractions. "If I take a potato, cut it In half, then In quarters, and then In halves again, what shall I have?" - >