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Show News Review of Current Events the World Over Germany's Financial Plight Worries All Other Nations Hearings on Railway Freight Rate Increase Begun. By EDWARD W. PICKARD W"";,,"! "e . ' world looked on ' k; '. with anxious Interest, :-. Cerniany was plunged . ' ' ;'s Into u financial crisis tl't threatened the t-. eoiintry with utter - J economic collapse and J',:xJ,. . tnade possible even . f .' ' the subversion of the - government. Delay In k "y.J acceptance of the Hoover moratorium hy George W. France had resulted McGarrah in tho withdrawal of rast sums from tho German banks, tho conversion of these funds Into foreign currency and Its removal from he country. The big Darnistaedter und National bank closed Its doors, primarily becuuse of heavy losses sustained sus-tained through the failure of Germany's Ger-many's largest wool-combing concern. Dr. Hans Luther, president of the Relchsbank, rushed from Berlin to London and thence to I'aris, seeking ld. The French government refused lo participate In a loan to the Relchsbank Relchs-bank unless Germany would agree to conditions which I'.erlln regarded as Impossible of acceptance. These Included In-cluded suspension of the pocket battleship bat-tleship building program, abandonment abandon-ment of the Austro-German customs anion, further credit restrictions In Germany and relinquishment of any hope of regaining Danzig and the Danzig corridor. President von Hln-denburg Hln-denburg and bis ministers said they would resign rather than submit to Uieso demands. Luther then flew to Basel and laid the case before the Bank for International Inter-national Settlements and representatives representa-tives of Americnn, British and French banks. Gates V. McGarrah, American president of the B. I. S., announced that the directors of that Institution had agreed to renew Its participation In the rediscount credit of $100,000,-000 $100,000,-000 accorded to the Relchsbank June 25 and due on July 15. This credit was advanced jointly by the Federal Reserve bank of the United States, the Bank of France, the Bank of England Eng-land and the world bank. The sum was welcome to Luther but It was only a drop In the bucket which he had tovflll. MEANWHILE the German govern- ment o r d e r e d all J $ banks closed for two 1 x I days, shut up the fS 1 stock exchanges for a 8?? wr V J week and decreed a I -3 two-day moratorium, j It thus checked the & "I2" i 1 exodus of capital and J the transfer of marks 11 N 1 Into foreign currencies '-- or securities for the Hans Luther time being. There was some rioting, but In general the German Ger-man people exhibited the calmness of despair. The authorities cannot believe be-lieve that America and the other nations na-tions of Europe would permit the insolvency in-solvency of Germany, and the decree issued by President von HIndenbnrg stressed the fact that the crisis was largely metaphysical and due to lack of public confidence. , At the suggestion of the French government, ten Important conference was held In Paris Saturday and Sunday, Sun-day, the chief participants from other nations being Chancellor Bruening and Foreign Minister Curtlus of Germany, Foreign Secretary Henderson of England Eng-land and Secretary Stimson of the Ulllicu states. Aiiis was u pieum-inary pieum-inary to a conference In London called for July 20 by the British government. govern-ment. To represent the United States t the latter President Hoover designated desig-nated Secretaries Stimson and Mellon. It was understood they would not concern themselves with matters of European politics, and Mr. Stimson already had explained that this government 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 but it was the official view in Washington Washing-ton 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 he 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 fully Justified and that they tend to promote the cause of world disarmament and to assure security se-curity for Europe In general and France In particular. CHARLES G. EDWARDS, Democrat, representative In congress of the First Georgia district, died suddenly of cerebral hemmorhage In Atlanta. He was fifty-three years old and his home was In Savannah. Mr. Edwards' death restores to two the Republican majority In the house. He was the seventh member of that body to die since the election. The Republicans now have 215 members to 213 for the Democrats and one Farmer-Lnborite. There are only six vacancies for that caused by the death of Aswell of Lou isiana has been filled by the election of another Democrat, John Overton. INVESTIGATION was ordered by Secretary Sec-retary of Commerce Lamont into charges made by Dr. Ray O. Hall that he had been dismissed from the department de-partment for protesting against falsification falsi-fication of the recently Issued report on the "balance of international payments." pay-ments." Hall, who prepared most of of the report, alleged figures were Juggled Jug-gled and deletions made to suit "political "politi-cal expediency." lie said particularly that a comment to the effect that Impending Im-pending tariff legislation possibly was In part responsible for merchandise imports holding up relatively well during dur-ing the first half of the fiscal year 1930 had been omitted In the publication. 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 shippers ship-pers had sent greater quantities of goods to this country during the first part of the fiscal year than otherwise would have been the case. p"" T) AILWAY officials, . -4 I- shippers and oth-E oth-E a er interested persons I I gathered In Washing- P ' VS 1 ton for tlle hearings r J before the Interstate i Commerce commission I nj J on the application of ?. v the railroads for an L ' N y' Increase of 15 per cent in rates on all -""J freight traffic. It is Ezra Brainerd, one of the biggest jr. questions that Chair man Ezra Brainerd, Jr., and his fellow commissioners have had to handle for some 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 $1S8,387,587, or 2.10 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 western west-ern district Conforming to the wish of President Presi-dent Hoover, that existing wage scales be maintained, the roads are seeking an increase of revenue in increased 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 taken 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 the farmers dropped 20 per cent ; that farm prices are down to pre-war levels, lev-els, while freight rates are relatively high; that with many products taxes, manufacturing costs, and railroad rates can be passed on to the consum-ere, consum-ere, but that the farmer cannot pass hls-costs on. Two security holders' committees appeared before the commission to set forth the danger that many millions mil-lions of dollars of rail securities may become ineligible for life insurance, savings bank and other investment unless the freight rate Increase is granted. One of the committee represented rep-resented life Insurance and savings bank interests and the other trust and fire insurance companies and institutions. in-stitutions. In an effort to determine whether certain practices of the railroads are consistent with "economical and efficient effi-cient management," the Interstate commerce commission announced that It would conduct an investigation on Its own motion into practices of carriers car-riers which affect their operating revenues rev-enues aDd expenses. Among the practices the commission 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 construction construc-tion and maintenance of sidings for shippers. CAPTS. GEORGE ENDRES and Alexander Magyar of the Hungarian Hun-garian army made a remarkable nonstop non-stop flight from Harbor Grace, N. F., to within 14 miles of Budapest. That city was their goal but their fuel ran out just before it was reached. Joseph Lebrix and Marcel Do-ret, Do-ret, two famous French aviators, set out on a non-stop flight from Paris to Tokyo, hoping to make the 0.000 miles In 02 hours. They were making good progress when they were forced down In Siberia 310 miles from Irkutsk. Ir-kutsk. The plane was ruined and Lebrix Le-brix was slightly Injured. SOVIET Russia has taken another step In Its return toward old-time ways. It has been decreed by the people's commissiariat for agriculture that payment to workers on Russia's collective farms shall henceforth be j made only on the basis of quality and quantity of work performed. The measure meas-ure Is designed to Increase the "material "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, according ac-cording to the size and needs of their families, many taking their share of produce at the outset of the harvest. These factors, combined with Inadequate Inade-quate organization and management of farms, were cited In the decree as responsible for a break In labor discipline disci-pline and consequent losses from the harvest. THREE Independerat investigators, after a tour of the Pennsylvania-Ohio Pennsylvania-Ohio coal fields, where the miners are on strike, declared that "the people of Pittsburgh are entirely unapprecia-tive unapprecia-tive 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 coal Industry. The investigators were Dr. Colston E. Warne of Amherst college. Dr. William 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 Blanquier who, besides being be-ing premier, is minister of finance. Blanquier was formerly finance and public works minister, as well as director di-rector o'i the state railways. He Is regarded re-garded as an efficient technical man and it is believed In Santiago that he can find the remedy for the precarious precari-ous state of Chilean finances. FROM the White House came an official reply to the attacks on the tariff commission that have been made by Senator Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas and other Democratic leaders. The statement represented the tariff commission as a most industrious industri-ous body which had completed Investigations Investi-gations of 110 different articles under the flexible provisions of the tariff act and has Investigations of 119 articles ar-ticles still under consideration. In 22 investigations completed and reported to the President, It was pointed out that -30 only 10 of the 40 articles Involved In-volved had there been an Increase proclaimed. On 12 articles the duty was cut On 20 there was no change; on 4 others there were no change. It was also explained that in addition addi-tion to its duties under the flexible clause, the commission had been called on by congress for reports on 10 subjects, four of which have been completed. On Its own Initiative the commission undertook and completed an Investigation of leaf tobacco. "mhe cases brought before the commission com-mission are being handled expeditiously,-' the White House statement declared. de-clared. "The tables presented herewith here-with reveal that the commission Is disposing of the cases at a rate of one per week." ONE more report from the Wicker-sham Wicker-sham commission has been made public. It deals with methods of criminal crim-inal procedure, and an Interesting paragraph denounces as "shocking to one's sense of Justice" the laws undef which the famous Mooney-Billings! case was conducted. The commission cites the case arising from the 1918 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, howerer, that the case be reopened. In the body of its report, signed by ten of the eleven members, the commission com-mission concludes that blame should be laid at the door of "incompetent, or politics-ridden Judges" for much of the general complaint againat this country's criminal procedure. Monte M. Lemann, New Orleans lawyer who declined to sign the commission's com-mission's prohibition report, likewise refused to sign this document. He charges that the report was made without sufficient research to back up the conclusions reached. TIRTUALLY the 11? V father of the -army air service, jf s Brig. Gen. Benjamin D. Foulois, will next s fVv December, reap the V ? reward of his long and earnest labors. The War department K ' announced his promo- , $ tion to succepd Maj. A, tt'-'v Gen. James E. Fechet as chief of the army Gen Fou,ois air corps, effective December 20, when General Fechet's term expires. Foulois will then become a major general. He was one of the pioneers in the development of aviation 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 S150, he contributed S300 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 Atlantic At-lantic coast last May. ALBERT B. FALL, former secretary secre-tary of the interior, was ordered by the Department of Justice to be committed to the New Mexico penitentiary peni-tentiary to serve out the term to which he was sentenced on his conviction con-viction In the Elk Hills bribery case. In order that Fall, because of Incipient 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 Columbia Supreme court (. 1931. Wutern NewaDacer Union.) |