OCR Text |
Show NEWS REVIEW OF CURRENT EVENTS Thirty Killed in Race War in Tulsa, Okla Whites Burn All Black Belt. SENATE FIRM FOB BIG NAVY Passes Appropriation Bill Carrying $494,000,000 President Harding's Memorial Day Utterance Rail-way Rail-way Wage Reduction Announced More Fighting in Silesia. By EDWARD W. PICKARD. Another of those sudden and terrible ter-rible race conflicts which make all decent de-cent Americans blush with shame occurred oc-curred last week, this time in Tulsa, Okla. Before the state troops that were called to assist the police had restored order at least thirty persons per-sons had been killed, hundreds had been wounded and the negro quarter of the city was in ashes. More than 6,000 negroes were rendered homeless home-less and the property damage was estimated es-timated to be in excess of a million and a half dollars. As so often is the case, the riots were due to an attack on a white girl by a negro. The offender was arrested arrest-ed and then someone started the rumor ru-mor that he was to be lynched. Several Sev-eral hundred armed blacks gathered about the courthouse and jail, and one of them was killed by a police officer. That started the fighting, and within a few hours the city had become an armed camp. Both whites and blacks looted the stores for guns, and the negroes entrenched themselves in their quarter. An army of whites soon began the invasion of that region and, driving back the blacks, set fire to the buildings as they advanced. Men, women and children were shot down mercilessly as they fled from their burning homes. Three local units of the Oklahoma National Guard were ordered out by the governor, and they, with the help of the police and members of the American Legion, at last succeeded In controlling the situation. sit-uation. They were able to protect the business and railroad districts from further destruction, but the "black belt" was a smoking ruin. The same old cries of "Shame !" will be heard, and Tulsa will be thoroughly thor-oughly scolded for this shocking affair; af-fair; but the same causes will bring j about the same results ever and again, almost anywhere In the United States, and the Wisest social economists do-not do-not know where the remedy lies. i If the house can be brought around to the senate's way of thinking, we will have the greatest navy in the world. But the difference of view of the two chambers is represented Just now by some $9S,0O0,O0O, and it may be a long time before an agree- j nient is reached. By a vote of 54 to ! 17 the senate passed the naval appro- j priation bill carrying a total of $494,-000,000. $494,-000,000. For several weeks the small navy men had fought hard, but they secured a reduction of only $2,500,-000 $2,500,-000 from the total recommended by the naval committee. Their leader, Senator Borah, voted for the bill because, be-cause, as he explained, he had high hopes of results from his amendment j requesting the President to invite Great Britain and Japan to join with j the United States in curtailing naval construction. That Mr. Harding takes the 8orah plan seriously is Indicated by the report that our representatives in London and Tokyo already are "feeling out" the sentiment In the governments gov-ernments to which they are accredited. ac-credited. The bill as passed by the senate carries car-ries $105,000,000 for construction of ships, including an item of $15,000,000 for the beginning of work on two air- j plane carriers at a limit cost of $52.- I 000.000; $18,000,000 for aviation, and i funds for 120.000 men. Severn! mil- ! lions of dollars are allowed for Btrengthening the Pacific Coast defenses, de-fenses, and money Is provided for further work on the Charleston navy yard, the majority having relented In that matter. Memorial day. not only was celebrated cele-brated fittingly all over the United States, but In England and France as well, where many of our dead warriors war-riors still lie. In this country, of course, the most notable observance of the day was in the national cemetery ceme-tery at Arlington, where the President Presi-dent delivered the address. Mr. Harding Har-ding took advantage of the occasion to declare that America must and will do her full part In helping to stabilize the world, to restrain ambition for empire and to prevent the disaster to civilization that would come from a denial of the equality of sovereign states or persons. The United States, he asserted, will neither pursue a policy pol-icy of isolation nor surrender any of its independence of action, but will stand ready to accept leadership In the restoration of normalcy In the world. In a Memorial day address In a Chicago suburb, former Senator James Hamilton Lewis predicted a war with Japan in which America will stand alone. "Not one country in Europe Is truly the friend of the United States," he said. "The time is coming when we shall have to protect pro-tect ourselves against an invasion of the Asiatics." England, France, and Italy, he said, will be appealed to by Japan to force the United States to grant the Japanese the same privileges privi-leges as they enjoy tn Europe. The federal railway labor board has announced the wage reduction that goes into effect on July 1, when the national agreements are abrogated. The average wage cut is to be 12 per cent and this eventually will reduce the pay rolls of the 104 roads affected by $400,000,000 a year. The board in its decision sets up new uniform wage scales for all groups of employees, employ-ees, and these will later apply to every road in the country. The abrogation of the national agreements, It is believed, be-lieved, may save the roads an additional addi-tional $300,000,000 yearly. In labor circles It had been feared a greater wage reduction would be ordered by the board ; hence it Is predicted the action may arouse little open opposition. oppo-sition. The chiefs of the railway unions reserved comment. The day after the board's ruling was made public President Harding surprised the interstate commerce commission by calling at its office for a conference on freight rate reduction, reduc-tion, which he deems of vital importance impor-tance in the restoration of business. He made clear his desire in this line, but it was evident that he would have to overcome strong opposition. The cabinet agrees with the President that prohibitive transportation rates largely large-ly account for the stagnation of busl-" busl-" ness and the continued high price of the necessities of life. Chairman Clark of the Interstate commerce commission and Senator Cummins, chairman of the senate committee com-mittee on interstate commerce, agree, however, with the railroad executives, who contend that rates cannot be reduced re-duced generally until it has been proved that railroad expenses can be cut to a point assuring an adequate return on the investment. Aviation in America is hard hit by disaster and economies. The country was shocked by the accident near Washington in which an army plane, caught in a fierce electrical storm, was destroyed and all its seven occupants killed. The victims included several aviation officers and former Congressman Congress-man Maurice Connolly. Blame for the accident, if there is any, is hard to place though It is felt that the establishment es-tablishment of altitude observation stations would do much to avert similar sim-ilar disasters. At ' the government proving ground at Aberdeen, Md., where rehearsals for the army and navy maneuvers in Chesapeake bay were taking place, a 50-pound bomb filled with TNT fell from a plane and he explosion killed five men and Injured twelve. Apparently Apparent-ly the mechanism of the bomb-carrying rack was defective. All the air mail routes established with so much flourish, except the transcontinental trans-continental line from New York to San Francisco have been abandoned. Postmaster Post-master General Hays saying this Is due to lack of money and to difficul ties of operation. The St. Paul-Chicago and St. Louis-Chicago routes were the last to be discontinued. This action ac-tion may be linked with the charges of Inefficiency, carelessness and misconduct mis-conduct made against certain of the operating force of the air mail in tha Middle West. Investigation has resulted result-ed in the temporary suspension of E. W. Majors, superintendent of tha Omaha-Cleveland division, and of four of his subordinates and one mechanic, Mr. Majors and the pilots in his division divi-sion deny the charge made by a discharged dis-charged pilot, that the deaths of sev eral air mall carriers were due tc criminal carelessness of the executive and mechanical forces. The investigation investi-gation is not yet completed. The Poles and Germans In Upper Silesia did not observe their truce for many hours. The Germans renywed the attacks and the fighting has 'been continuous ever since, despite the efforts ef-forts of the allied plebiscite forces, which have been reinforced by a body of British troops. In general the Poles seem to be getting the worst of the fighting, for the Germans were well organized secretly and are fully armed. There was a serious outbreak in Beu-then, Beu-then, where the German inhabitants attacked the French garrison. The latter used tanks , with deadly effect and routed the Gertnans, killing many. With the arrival of the British forces it appeared likely that Korfanty's insurgent in-surgent Poles would be driven out of much of the disputed territory which they had seized. ' Chancellor Wirth apparently is determined de-termined to force Germany to fulfill her obligations to the allies. In a speech before the reichstag he set forth the economic rules and policies through which, he believes, the German Ger-man nation can pay its debts and yet maintain economic stability and independence. in-dependence. He intends not only to keep up with the payments as they fall due, but to keep ahead of them. "The sums to be paid in reparations," repara-tions," he declared, "can be extracted extract-ed only by creating an economic balance. bal-ance. We must increase our production produc-tion and reduce our expenses to the utmost in our manufactures. We must limit all imports, especially luxuries, luxu-ries, as far as possible through customs tax measure. To this end we should have sovereignty over our customs borders. "Agriculture must be brought to its highest capacity, systematically. Animals Ani-mals must be replaced by motors, saving sav-ing fodder. Acreage must be increased, and the cultivation of swamps and deserts must be undertaken at the earliest moment, thus providing work for those out of employment. The sword has been broken. We must work." The chancellor foreshadowed a higher high-er corporation tax, a bourse tax, ar, Inheritance tax, a landed property tas and a tax on certain securities, in addition ad-dition to an increase in direct taxes. Before the congress of the Communist Com-munist party in Moscow Premier Lenin laid his economic program, which was supported by Minister of Agriculture Miliutin and approved by the gathering. The policy as outlined, includes: 1. Collection from the peasants of a fixed amount of grain by a system of tax in kind, estimated by Miliutin to amount to about one-third of the crop. The other two-thirds of the crop is to remain at the disposal of the peasant for grading through the newly restored co-operatives, whose power is to be extended. ex-tended. 2. Retention in the hands of the state of the largest industries and means of transportation, particularly the leather, salt and textile industries. These latter are turning out manufactured manu-factured goods now most needed by the peasants. They are to be speeded up in order to satisfy the peasants' needs, and the workmen are to be encouraged en-couraged by a bonus system and other Inducements which will Increase production. pro-duction. Supervision Is to be under the trade unions, who will fix the rates of pay Instead of the government as heretofore. 3. Encouragement of small and medium me-dium co-operatives and private Industries. Indus-tries. Factories will be leased to these smaller industries, and even financial assistance will be given. The trades unions will fix wages. |