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Show NEWS REVIEW OF CURRENT EVENTS Railway Labor Board Refuses to Abrogate the National Working Agreement. IS WITHOUT JURISDICTION Senate Committees Report Against Naval Holiday and Suspension of Immigration Germans Are Preparing Pre-paring Their Counter-Proposals on Reparations. with the grievances were not a party to the national agreement. Inspired by the conviction that the United States should have a navy as strong as that of any other nation, the senate naval affairs committee reported re-ported against the Borah resolution for a six months' naval construction holiday. . The report, presented by I Senator Poindexter, said the committee commit-tee was as anxious as possible to bring about a reduction of armaments, but that no disarmament would be of value unless it were general and, In the case of the great maritime powers, universal. "Unhappily this is not the case at the present time," continued the report, "and we must deal with conditions as they exist. For one nation to leave itself exposed to attack at-tack while another is preparing all the engines of war would be not only folly, but the greatest danger to the peace of the world that could be imagined." eminent will send qualified delegates to the reparations conference in Lon- don March 1, "provided negotiations are based on proposals which the German Ger-man government reserves to itself the right to 'lay before the conference." This acceptance being satisfactory, Doctor Simons called into consultation consulta-tion a large number of experts in finance, industry and economics, and they proceeded to frame the counterproposals counter-proposals which Germany will submit. Premier Briand has obtained from the French chamber of deputies the support he required before going to the London conference. The chamber voted 305 to 83 to approve the reparations repara-tions terms framed by the supreme council, and then gave- a vote of confidence con-fidence in Briand, 387 to 125. The opposition op-position was led by members of the former Clemenceau cabinet. The premier pre-mier closed the debate with the statement: state-ment: "The fate of Germany lies in her own hands. Should she, after May 1, 1921, refuse to fulfill her pledges the French government can be relied upon to take all measures to make her." The Hansa league, the great economic eco-nomic association of Germany, says many of its members urge a boycott of French and English goods in favor of goods from America, and adds that the directors of the league may adopt the suggestion if Great Britain continues con-tinues to support France in the reparations repa-rations claims. Of the two great military operations in the Near East that are believed to be impending one, that of the soviet Russians against Poland and Roif-mania, Roif-mania, has not yet been started. The other, the conflict between the Greeks and the Turkish nationalists, may already al-ready be under way. The news from Asia Minor that comes through Paris is carefully censored, and advices by other routes are conflicting at this writing. There is no doubt, however, that the Greeks have been concentrating concen-trating large forces for this fight, and that Kemal Pasha also has gathered together most of his troops for what he hopes to make a decisive operation. opera-tion. Greece relies on financial assistance as-sistance from the allies for this warfare, war-fare, and without it she will have great difficulty, for her expenses are now vastly greater than her revenues. Chronic trouble-makers and trouble-seekers trouble-seekers are trying to find in the Greek operations In Asia Minor a cause for serious conflict between France and Great Britain ; but there is no reason to believe that their hopes will be realized. Walter Lyman Brown, director of American relief work In Europe, has been making a tour of all the countries coun-tries in his jurisdiction, and is skeptical skep-tical concerning the expected Russian offensive this spring. He thinks the Bolshevik government would scarcely dare to undertake an attack on Poland that would lose to its cause the support sup-port of the workers of western Europe. He says Hungary and Latvia are sure the attack is coming, Poland is nervous, and Czecho-Slovakia and Esthonia believe the Russians will refrain. re-frain. The loyalists of South Africa, headed head-ed by General Smuts, won a great victory vic-tory in the recent elections, and as a result the provinces of the Cape of Good Hope, Transvaal, Natal and Orange Free State will continue as one of the self-governing dominions of the British empire instead of setting up an independent republic. The opposition op-position was led by General Hertzog, who asserted the right of South Africa to secede from the empire despite the act of union. c In India a more liberal self-government was put into effect last week when Prince Arthur of Connaught arrived ar-rived at Delhi as personal representative representa-tive of the emperor, King George, and issued a proclamation announcing the surrender of much government power to the native princes. R. C. Roper of Nebraska makes the Interesting announceiricnt that William Wil-liam J. Bryan and' his brother. Charles, whom Mr. Roper represents, are planning to reorganize the Democratic Demo-cratic party so that the Cox-White and McAdoo-Woolley factions shall be eliminated and the control put in the hands of the "middle class Democrats." Demo-crats." The program, said Mr. Roper, will be made public on March IS, W. J. Bryan's birthday. By EDWARD W. PICKARD. 'fhis year's first big labor fight, that between the railways and the rail workers, really opened last week when the national railroad labor board took up the appeal of the rail executives for immediate abrogation of the na-tipnal na-tipnal working agreements. The hearing hear-ing drew to Chicago the heavy, guns of both the executives and the railway rail-way brotherhoods. The board decided against the railways, which, however; have not abandoned the fight. As was foreseen, President Wilson declined td intervene, though asked to by both sides, stating he would not take any action "which would interfere inter-fere with the orderly procedure of the interstate commerce commission or the railway labor board." Frank P. Walsh, counsel for the rail unions, and B. M. Jewell, head of their department of the American Federation Federa-tion of Labor, are leading the fight of the brotherhoods. Their first action ac-tion was to question the jurisdiction of the labor board in this matter, on the ground that a question involving the financial ability .of the roads to pay is within the province of the interstate in-terstate commerce commission, the labor la-bor board being limited by law to questions of wages and working conditions. con-ditions. This point the board decided was well taken. Chairman Bartow said the board for several months had been considering the national working agreement, clause by clause, to determine whether any parts were unreasonable, and he urged that it be "not further interrupted by the introduction of unwarranted demands by either party." The second part of the general argument argu-ment of Mr. Walsh was "that the move by the railroad executives is part of a "Wall street conspiracy" to kill the power of the unions, establish the open shop, crush collective bargaining and reduce wages. "Twelve New York banks," said Mr. Walsh, "through interlocking directorates, direc-torates, control 92 class I roads, which have 80 per cent of the class I mileage mile-age and 7G per cent of the total railroad rail-road mileage of the United States. In the hearings of the Lockwood committee commit-tee in New York the testimony revealed re-vealed a movement on the part of certain interests to crush unions and establish the 'open shop.' It is directed di-rected first at the two basic industries indus-tries of building construction and transportation." A great many persons not directly concerned Id the present controversy believe with Mr. Walsh that there is a concerted movement to establish the open shop, and, likewise, a great many persons are in sympathy with such a movement. .These persons see the Impending conflict as a fight not between be-tween labor and capital, but between tyrannical labor unions and industry. Most of them have suffered and are suffering from the Intolerance of both organized labor and organized capital, and they are very tired of it. What railroad men said was one of the most far reaching decisions made by the labor board was handed down last week, the ruling being that it was the duty of the Boston and Maine railroad to confer with the committees of the American Federation of Labor over the grievances of its workers. Employees said the decision upheld the right of independent organizations of railway workers to present their grievances to road officials. In the Boston and Maine case it was said a conference was refused because those A temporary suspension of building, it was pointed out, would cost the government gov-ernment immense sums through deterioration de-terioration of material and dislocation disloca-tion of contracts; would throw large numbers of workmen out of employment, employ-ment, and, by rendering it difficult or impossible to reassemble these forces should work on vessels be resumed, would give an immense advantage to powers that had not interrupted the construction of their fleets. The committee upheld the contention conten-tion of the navy board that the capital ship is not obsolete. It recommended that twelve destroyers and six submarines, sub-marines, authorized, in 1916 but not yet contracted for, be eliminated from the building program. These 18 ships were expected to cost .the government about $55,000,000. The committee suggested sug-gested the use of this amount for the construction of two airplane carriers of the most modern type and of the most advantageous size. Another senate committee that on immigration also took important action ac-tion when it rejected, by a vote of 5 to 4, the bill passed by the house providing pro-viding for the suspension of immigration immigra-tion for one year. Senators Johnson, Washington ; Harris, Georgia ; Harrison, Har-rison, Mississippi, and King, Utah, voted for the bill, and Colt, Rhode Island, chairman ; Dillingham, Vermont Ver-mont ; Sterling, South Dakota ; Keyes, New Hampshire, and Phelan, California, Califor-nia, against it. Next day the committee began consideration con-sideration of the Dillingham substitute substi-tute for the house bill, and the indications indica-tions were that it would be acted on favorably. This measure provides that the number of aliens of any nationality na-tionality entering as immigrants in any one year shall be limited to 5 per cent of the total number of persons of such nationality already in the country, coun-try, as determined by the latest census. cen-sus. The legislation would not apply to immigrants from the American continents con-tinents and adjacent Islands, nor, to the Asiatic "barred zone," from which immigrants already are excluded, nor to Japan, immigration from which is regulated by agreement. Some of the radical restrictionists will make a fight to have the percentage cut down, perhaps as low as 2 per cent. In Washington it was said there was no likelihood that the bill would get through congress before March 4. Frequent charges that thousands of sick or disabled ex-service men are being inadequately cared for by the government had their effect on congress. con-gress. The senate adopted an amendment amend-ment to the sundry civil bill appropriating appro-priating $12,500,000 for five new buildings build-ings and $6,100,000 for the enlargement enlarge-ment and improvement of existing hospitals. The house, by unanimous vole, passed a bill carrying an appropriation ap-propriation for $13,000,000 for additional addi-tional hospitals and enlarged facilities. Under this bill five new hospitals are to be located one in the central Atlantic At-lantic states, one in the region of the Great Lakes, one in the central southwestern south-western states, one in the Rocky mountain states and one in southern California. In nddition, the secretary of -war is Instructed to take over at once and equip for hospital use Fort Mackenzie, Wyoming, and Fort Walla Walla, Washington. Foreign Minister Simons has notified noti-fied the al'tes that the German gov- |