Show t j 1 B t J lt i I Zt x tY q t Jl 1 9 s S SPEN PEN IN O OJ J TO OPE I I f I 1 J Our Neighbors Across cross the Sea Need Only t to Stop Stogy Grumbling and Get Get Back Bach on the Job lob to Right Rig Themselves Fully After the up Smash-up of the World War According 1 f Paris FOR OR six years year Europe has been in tho the midst of ot a a. revolution so stupendous that the outcome cannot yet be predicted predicted pre pro yet so unobtrusive that most people do not realize it has taken place It was largely for the purpose of studying studying study study- ing this upheaval one of the vastest in all history O that Frederic C. C Howe Bowe formerly New York Commissioner of Immigration came came to the Continent a year ago 4 At his home in Paris a few days ago Mr Howe who for twenty-five twenty years has been a stormy petrel in American politics politics poli poll tics because his ideas of reform clashed with those of the consented consented consented con con- to give his first interview on the theres res results of his extensive travel and painstaking painstakIng pains pains- taking observations He has studied the Green Revolution in Austria Hun Hun- Hungary Hungary gary England Germany CzechoSlovakia CzechoSlovakia Czecho Czecho- slovakia and Italy His deductions are backed by the keen analysis which a politician and an authority on world economics brings to the subject Though famous chiefly for his new ide Ideas s on immigration introduced at EllIs kills Island and maintained for five years amid the anguished groans of the old regime Mr Howe Bowe is first and foremost foremost fore fore- most a political economist He majored in economics at Johns Hopkins and most of his many books books European European CI Cities ies at Work Vork Denmark a o Co-o CooperatIve oper Co p er- er Commonwealth Socialized Germany Ger Ger- Ger- Ger Germany many many manyu u Why hY War The High Cost of ot Living have been on economic topics A year ago he left the United States feeling a bit discouraged Some of his political idols had developed clay feet Others had developed cold feet Others hadn't developed any feet at all His ideas on reform had undergone certain changes When 1 I was young he said the theother theother theother r other day In in this Paris apartment which looks out on a sixteenth century courtyard courtyard courtyard court court- yard I thought a reformer ought to be fearless to the point of recklessness Now I feel that a reformer in jail is not doing any ny good to a reform movement t. t Its It's all right to go over the top when the time comes but to walk up and down on the ramparts just to show you arent aren't afraid is merely silly WHILE BILE he still has sweeping ideas of reform which would make the units in governmental departments at Washington Washington Washington Wash Wash- ington fall from their swivel chairs in one concerted swoon Mr Howe Kowa feels that the great hope for clean American politics lies with labor and the farmers k And he thinks the farmers wont won't begin to wake up to a real interest in politics s until they begin to be afraid that they may lose their farms Which brought the conversation round to the query What is the most vital jk thing happening in Europe today There are four vital things Mr Howe replied at once with his keen yet sympathetic smile the Green Revolution Revo Revolution ution u- u tion the situation in Germany the situation situation situation situ situ- in France and the situation in England The Green Revolution It had somehow somehow somehow some some- how an amazing sound Bound Its an amazing thing Frederic M Howe Bowe replied replie and almost as amazing as the fact that the four most significant significant cant tant things in Europe today are neither commanding headlines in the press nor being talked about y Tho The most important is the Green Revolution as it is called among those who know enough about it to give the movement a name It is the peaceful 1 revolution which has swept away the old feudal system almost completely from the River Elbe to the Pacific Ocean Before the war Russia Austria Hungary the greater part of the Balkans Balkans Bal Dal- kans leans were owned by the aristocracy in huge estates held heM from feudal times In all those countries these old estates have been seized and divided up among the peasants who were formerly serfs The Tho peasants used to pay rent or work as farm hands now they own their own pieces of land They're becoming becoming becoming be be- coming prosperous more than they ever were They pay no rent When the peasants took the land from aristocracy the aristocracy went broke The aristocracy lacy racy didn't even have to be exiled from politics because it lost its power when it lost its land H Today there thero are possibly two or three hundred million people who are working for themselves and voting for themselves This is changing two- two thirds of the area of Old Europe and the tho clock cannot be turned back That is the important thing in tho the Russian Rev fey elution It is what has happened to Czecho Slovakia the tho Balkans and tho the greater part of Poland and Hungary The second vital thing in Europe to todaY today today to- to day is the tho new Germany which is beginning to rise to power There is Is every evidence that tho the Republic is safe in Germany Labor is too powerful for forthe forthe the tho monarchy to be bo put back Germany however is still ruled by tho the highly pow- pow A seething of influences wh which ch moved so unobtrusively as to pass almost without notice has been going on in Europe for the last six years and the end of this this' silent revolution is yet to come I f i Commissioner a at New York v j I w I rj r I 1 l r 1 f 1 erful bureaucracy that really ruled before before before be be- fore the war Germany has been playing possum since 1919 Her Tier railroads steel industries industries industries indus indus- tries and the rest of her industries have plowed h hundreds of millions of dollars back into the properties Germany Germany Germany Ger Ger- many has been making malting herself highly efficient probably much more efficient than before the war Another important important important tant element in the German situation is that that the cities have paid their debts the people have paid their debts the huge industrials have paid their debts debts debts- in worthless marks Debts amounting to millions were paid with a few fow dollars so 60 Germany starts with a clean sheet except for what she has to pay in repa repa- rations Farmers and businessmen are out of debt Germany has got back her Ruhr in a highly efficient state tate Given credit she is likely to build up with lightning rapid rapid- ity The fact that she has a republican government has not changed her efficiency efficiency effi effi- efficiency but probably heightened it From Froma a material point of view the German people are better off than the tho victors than either France or England A third vital factor in Europe just now is the prosperity of France Almost all the news out of Europe is Bankers Bankers' ankers' ankers talk about debts depreciated currency and how will America be paid But France goes on quite oblivious of oi the tho depreciated franc or of American debts Everybody is at work and apparently profitably at work Tho The peasants never were so prosperous In France Franco the country is governed by an intelligent system which understands what the country wants France is economically sound The Tho French Government is fiscally unsound This condition will continue because the French people hate taxes and no French Government is likely to levy leyy heavy direct taxes on real estate incomes or profits A Government would probably be thrown out of office that attempted to tax the peasants shopkeepers and people people people peo peo- of small means All classes nevertheless nevertheless nevertheless never never- groan today over taxes and they are really heavily taxed but most of the tho taxes are aro indirect As to the tho situation of England the fourth great factor in the tho present condition condition condition con con- of Europe unlike Europe unlike France England England England Eng Eng- land as a nation is solvent Her industrial industrial industrial indus indus- trial life however is in a bad way England takes pride in meeting her national obligations To default is un un- thinkable But England has from one oneto oneto oneto to two U million men out of work all the time Many more are out of work part of the tho time Taxes are crushing Every three workers are supporting one other man by doles You must remember that England lives through trade IIer Her trade with Russia Russin Germany and a great part of Europe has never revived Tho people cannot buy and her trade is blocked by nationalistic protective tariffs Governmentally solvent England is economically and indu industrially unsound It It is s hard to see how she can recover FOR OR a n moment the tho economist remained silent looking into the fire as if ho saw there the tho ruins of old systems and perhaps the tho flaming into life of new neww I ones Ills His words had been gloomy enough Was there no ray of hope Again that quick smile It is an interesting commentary Economic Europe r fTH Y k As Howe Sees It RUSSIA AND THE BALKANS Peasants BALKANS Peasants everywhere becoming prosperous as they acquire possession of the land Working and voting for themselves they are becoming the real power GERMANY From GERMANY GERMANY From From a material point of view the German I people are much better off than the nations that overcame Germany in the World War Debts paid off except reparations labor in control German Germany is more efficient and sufficient self-sufficient now than before the war FRANCE FRANCE Busy Busy and prosperous with everybody profitably I at work although smarting under the heavy taxes indirectly assessed France economically sound but the French Government fiscally unsound ENGLAND Probably ENGLAND Probably worse off than any of the others From one to two million out of work and the country groaning under taxes Governmentally solvent England is economically and industrially unsound TAKEN AS A The WHOLE WHOLE The internal life of Europe is sound and in a great part of the Continent one would I hardly know that a devastating war had so recently occurred which men dont don't talk about he said that the tho prosperous European countries today are those with depreciated cur cur- rency They violated every principle of eco ceo But the people are at work the internal life is sound and in a great part of Europe one would not know that thata a devastating war had occurred Of course it is an economic principle that wealth recuperates fast We forget that as a rule 80 per cent of our wealth is less than three years old for forwe forwe forwe we consume it as fast as we produce it This has been true of wealth everywhere everywhere every every- where in civilized times When a country is producing wealth it rapidly re-creates re itself But when a country like England is not only not producing but is paying a great part of what it produces in doles and taxes its energies are paralyzed It does docs not recover re recover recover re- re cover without some unforeseen assist assist- ance Frederic Howe has nevertheless an old-fashioned old and homely remedy for the tho various distresses now troubling Europe It is nothing more complicated than to stop groaning and get back to t the e job The gre great t thing that Europe needs right now ho he remarked is to get back to work High tariffs enacted by new nations since the tho war are nrc one of the worst barriers to a reconstructed Europe You see what's what the matter Every nation is trying to be self Every nation is trying to lift itself by its ita boot The cost coat of living is rising in consequence Remarkably enough in Mr Howes Howe's the cost of living does not rise riso in Europe because of war post-war gance It rises because of war post thrift carried tp the tho point where thriftiness thriftiness thriftiness ness ends and stinginess begins Nor ii is to This Observer Frederic C. C Howe Former za Immigration it the idle aristocrat who makes the price prica of bread go up Its It's the Industrious industrious indus indus- but penurious peasant There is no corner c of Europe now where the conversation keeps for more than five minutes away from the sudden sudden sudden sud sud- den jumps upward of the staples of life The cost of food tho the cost of clothes the increased railroad fares the sudden skyward swoop of real estate the in incredible incredible incredible in- in credible price of building materials materials-a a European conversation today whether in inthe inthe inthe the drawing room or the cafe is so vividly a duplicate of American conversations conversations conversations conver conver- for the last decade as to be bo ludicrous if it were not so tragic Nobody Nobody Nobody No No- body understands the how and the why Nobody that is who has not taken affairs af- af affairs affairs af af- fairs apart with an inquisitive mind and put them carefully together again FREDE REDERIC UC HOWE is is isone one of those who have taken the clock apart to see how the wheels go round He lie has found the flaw in the mainspring if the metaphor isn't getting too mixed And the flaw is none other than the tho hardworking hardworking hardworking hard hard- working and saving hard-saving farmer How many times by how many tongues since the day of Benjamin Franklin and before has not thrift been held up as ns a shining model to the young oung 1 How many axioms have hao been instilled into the youthful brain to the tho effect that its it's the early bird and so on Also that a rolling stone and so forth Not Notto Notto Notto to mention the tho fact that a penny saved saed is a penny earned This it seems is true true true-in in moderation A penny saved is a penny earned for forthe forthe forthe the saver but its it's a penny lost lost lost-as as things co go nowadays nowadays for for the savers saver's country So the thrifty peasant who stows his pennies away carefully may find and does docs find that somehow the k h. h t r f f Ala AlaY Y I a y r 3 of hl r I v t Y w f fa x a I t r l A U A A y 0 Sf f- f L. L j J. j i L a r w r 7 bu jA jALI Mf i Mh w i rr LI t d i 1 A j. j I i a 44 4 Jt I i t i J rAh a t t X i iy v 1 y S- S il 4 H Ired Frederic eric C. C OSCe aF y a y 1 a Howe Howo whose long experience in h handling and Ii n g immigrants immigrants immigrants grants and w whose training and ad natural inclination make him himan himan an ideal observer describes the price of flour has leaped up or shoes cost twice what they did a year ear ago ago ago- and voila there goes his penny that he saved so carefully and man many more pennies with itA itA it A UA great part of the increased cost of living in Europe at present Mr Howe explained goes back to the peas peas- ant Peasant prosperity means peasant conservatism Instead of spending recklessly recklessly recklessly reck reck- lessly the surplus which he now possesses possesses possesses pos pos- the European peasant becomes if possible even more saving As a matter of fact we cant can probably anticipate the Europe of tomorrow by bythe bythe bythe the France of today In France the peasants got the land during the French Revolution They have held on to i it ever since with the result that they have made France both conservative and radical By both conservative and radical I mean that France is a country with a peasantry unwilling to spend but willing willing willing will ing to fight for their land A country in which the people own the land can hardly be conquered This has been true since the beginning of time In Russia we can see by the light of past events in France what will happen The peasants in Russia will take possession possession possession posses posses- sion of the land |