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Show NEWS REVIEW OF ' CURRENT EVENTS Jenate Approves Tax Reduction Reduc-tion and French War i Debt Settlement By EDWARD W. P1CKARD WITH the tax cot bill passed by both bouse and senate and the llellon-Berenger agreement for the funding of the French debt ratified by the upper house, congress quit work cn Saturday and went home to celebrate cele-brate Christmas and New Tear's. Fourteen senators, most of them elassed as radicals, voted against the tax reduction measure but 63 were recorded In Its favor, and it was promptly signed by President Hoover. vThe act, whose terms are already Quite generally known, remains In effect ef-fect only one year, but It la presumed that congress a year hence will pro-Tide pro-Tide for another reduction if tax revenues rev-enues continue at the present high level. The Tote on the ratification of the French debt settlement was 52 to 21. Senator Howell of Nebraska, Republican, Repub-lican, led the opposition on behalf of the radical gronp, which consistently fights about everything the administration adminis-tration seeks to accomplish. Howell contended that the effect of the settlement settle-ment was to cancel the entire prin cipal of the debt. His theory was that the payments over a period of 62 years represent merely Interest at rate of 2.17 per cent. The French Indebtedness, which was funded at a total of f-,025,000,000, not only was one of the largest of any of the debts but Is the last to be disposed dis-posed of except those of Russia and Armenia, which are at present listed In the hopeless class. The principal and accrued Interest at the time of the funding of the debts totaled approximately ap-proximately $n,500,000.000. Unless the entire debt question Is reopened at some future time the controversy Is now officially closed. There Is an Impression that If the American public debt continues to be retired at Its present rate and Is entirely en-tirely wiped out within the next 17 or 18 years an agitation will immediately imme-diately develop for a cancellation of all foreign debts which remain outstanding out-standing at that time. PROSPECTS for the naval limitation conference In London In January are no quite so rosy as they were. In the first place the Japanese delegates, who have been entertained In Washington Wash-ington on their way to England, revealed re-vealed that their program differs harply from that of the United States In the mntters of cruisers and submarines. The Japanese are still asking a 10-7 ratio for all auxiliary craft, Including the big gun cruisers, though It Is hoped they will modify their demands slightly In order to gain thplr point concerning submarines. subma-rines. They wish to retain 79,000 tons of underwater craft now in their fleet or under construction. As the United Btates Is anxious to sharply reduce her submarine tonnage and there are some Indications the cruiser demands by Japan may be modified, the Japanese Jap-anese submarine proposal now furnishes fur-nishes the chief obstacle to an accord between the two powers. American naval officials, especially, are opposed to permitting Japan such a large submarine force. One big rea-on rea-on for the navy's opposition lies In the fact that possession of a big submarine sub-marine navy, together with numerous naval bnHes, would give Japan control of the Asiatic trade routes over which the United States must transport Its supplies of tin and rubber, raw materials ma-terials riot produced In sufficient quantities quan-tities In this country, but absolutely essential to the prosecution of a successful suc-cessful war. Over In Paris the chamber of deputies' depu-ties' commission on foreign affairs and naval matters, sitting Jointly, np proved the government's viewpoint that all results of tlie London conference confer-ence rnii.it be considered tentative and must be submitted to the League of Nations' disarmament commission for consideration of their possible lncor poration Into a general disarmament program. Foreign Minister Briand explained to the commissions that France had accepted the theory of limitation on the basis of global tonnage ton-nage Instead of categories; that she demanded the right to devote as high a percentage of her global allotment as she wishes to submarines, and that she Insists that each power tell the others just what types of vessels It Is using in its tonnage. Premier Tardieu and his delegation. It Is believed, will demand a full 800,000 tons for the French fleet, which figure is thought too high by both Great Britain and Italy. There is reason to believe, however, that France and Italy have made progress In reconciling their viewpoints. A correspondent of the London Daily Telegraph says the American delegates have prepared a series of charts, graphs and data that actually demonstrate that the British navy not only is not superior in strength to the American, but Is really greatly Inferior. In-ferior. The correspondent understands under-stands that these revelations have "deeply impressed the members of President Hoover's cabinet and other American statesmen who previously had accepted the view, carefully fostered fos-tered by propaganda, that the American Amer-ican navy is below the treaty strength and badly outclassed by the British navy. It is an Ironicul circumstance that this disclosure should have emerged from the work of American naval officers who were, of course, anxious to make out the case for a larger ship building program." JAPAN Is deeply concerned over the new situaliou In Manchuria, and statesmen the world over see in It the possibilities of another big war In the Far East. Mongols In the Barga district dis-trict have seized control and declared Barga independent of China, and the young Mongol party In Hallar Is reported re-ported to have organized an Independent Inde-pendent government. Installing as officials offi-cials emissaries from Urga, the capital cap-ital of outer Mongolia. These movements move-ments are believed to be inspired and supported actively by the Soviet Russian Rus-sian government, and If they are successful suc-cessful they will bring the Soviet lone several miles Inside the present Chinese-Russian frontier. Dispatches from Harbin said Japan had lodged a verbal protest against the Soviet activities with the Russlun ambassador ambassa-dor to Tokyo. PRESIDENT HOOVER'S request for authority to send a commission to Investigate affairs In Haiti was approved ap-proved by the house of representatives. representa-tives. The debate provided an opportunity oppor-tunity for Oscar De Priest, colored representative from Chicago, to make his maiden Bpeech, In support of the proposition. He took occasion to give the Southern Democrats some shrewd digs that made the Republicans laugh. One opponent of the opposition was Representative IluddlestoD of Alabama, Ala-bama, who recently declined to serve on a house committee because De Priest had been appointed one of Its members. Seven Haitian political organizations organiza-tions have asked the United Slates to supervise the Island's president lal election In April. !K;0. Their petition Ih considered the climax of a campaign cam-paign of the antl Porno factions which hope to effect the withdrawal of American marines be-fore the expiration expi-ration of the treaty In 1!J.".0. under which the United States took over the safeguarding of the republic. T TNDEK the terms of a decree recom J mended to the Supreme Court of the United States by Charles Evans Hughes, special master, the Chicago sanitary district would be required to complete a $170,000,000 sewage treatment treat-ment program within the nest nine years. Meanwhile there would be successive suc-cessive reductions In the diversion of water from Lake Michigan at Chicago from 8,-VlO cubic feet per second to fi.WX), fj.OOO and finally, on completion of the sewage treatment works, to I..VI0 feet per second, which Mr. Hughes holds Is all that Is required for ruivl-gatlon ruivl-gatlon purposes In the Chicago river. The figures given are exclusive of pumpiige for domestic purposes. The proposed decree Is of Interest to the entire Great Lakes region, and the Mississippi valloy. In the light of the adverse decision of tlie Supreme court of last January, which held that there Is no legal basis for diversion of water beyond the comparatively small amount necessary for navigation in the Chicago river, the Hughes report was regarded as being about as favorable to Chicago as could have been expected. Mr. Hughes made It clear that It Is within the power of congress to provide pro-vide for a greater diversion for navigation navi-gation purposes. It appeared evident that If congress approves the Illinois state waterway as a federal project the way will be opened for a sufficient diversion of water to maintain navigation navi-gation In a nine foot channel from Chicago to the Mississippi. TWO members of the British royal air force. Squadron Commander Jones-Williams and Flight Lieutenant Jenkins, started on a 6,000 mile nonstop non-stop flight from Eugland to Cape town, but crashed and were killed on a mountainside 30 miles southeast, of Tunis. They had run Into a severe storm and supposedly lost their way. More fortunate were MaJ. Tadeo Larre-Bnrges of Uruguay and Lieut. Leon Challe of France, though they, too, failed In accomplishing what they set out to do. They took oft from Seville, Spain, hoping to fly without stop to Montevideo, but, having crossed the ocean safely, they lost their bearings bear-ings In the dark and made a forced landing In a Brazilian forest. Their plane was smashed and both men were injured slightly. i -i ui uie worsi mine uisusiera oi the year occurred at McAlester, Okla. An explosion In the Old Town coal mine trapped 50 men, and not one of them escaped death. Seven others who were on upper levels got out alive. Rescue teams penetrated with great effort to the lower levels, which were filled with gas, and there found the bodies of the victims, many of them churred by the blast. The majority ma-jority had died swiftly of gas suffocation. suffo-cation. CONSIDERABLE relief wns assured ! disabled veterans of the World war when the senate unanimously passed the veterans' hospitalization bill which had previously been put through the house. Tle measure carries car-ries a totul appropriation of $15,-DoO.OOO. $15,-DoO.OOO. World war veterans and dependants of deceased veterans who hove not tiled applications for federal compen- I satlon are warned by officials of the veterans' bureau that they must do to not later than January 2. i PRESIDENT HOOVER appointed Jo- seph I!. Eastman of Boston, a Democrat, and Robert M. Jones of Knoxvllle, Tcnn., a Republican, mem- j bers of the Interstate Commerce com- 1 mission for tortus of seven years beginning be-ginning January 1. Eastman lias been ( a member of the commission for more i than ten years representing die New England section. Jones, who Is chnn- i cellor of the Eleventh Judicial district In Tennessee, will succeed Richard V. I Taylor of Mobile, Ala., appointed three 1 years ago by President Coolldge to till out an unexpired term. j I DHIUIIT W. MORROW, ambaHsa- ! dor to Mexico and delegate to '' the naval conference, has formally announced an-nounced tils acceptance of the appoint ap-point ment as senator from New Jersey Jer-sey upon the resignation of Senator : Balrd. He will assume his new duties as soon as his work In connection with the London parley Is completed. , Baird was given tho place when Edge 1 resigned to be nmhtissudor to France, 1 with the understanding that he would ' step nslde for Morrow. j SP. McNAUOH'i', who has been . engaged In prohibition work In Iowa, was elected superintendent of the Indiana AMI Saloon lengue to succeed suc-ceed the late E. S, Shuinaker. lie was the choice of F. Scott Mclirlde, the national superintendent of the league, so other candidates retired from compel com-pel It Ion. In the process of drying up the National Na-tional Capital (leorge L. Casskly, known as "the mar, with the green bat" and reputed to be the bootlegger to United Stales senators, has been Indicted under un-der tho Jones act. . 1)29, Wailaru Hoiruw Uuioavi |