FOCH ALONE
WAS CONFIDENT
Had Optimism Essential to
Great Leader, Said
Ciemenceau
From L'Europe Nouvelle, Par»»
(Translated for the Star.)
Georges Ciemenceau, with whom
Marshal Foch had numerous spats
and decidedly heated arguments,
said of him on the day after his
death:
“I will forgive Foch everything be
cause he possessed one virtue essen
tial to a leader, the only one which
cannot be dispensed with—confi
dence. Foch was the only general—
the only one—who, throughout tire
50 months of the war, never had a
single instant of discouragement.
Understand me, absolutely the only
general."
And the old "Tiger” leaned for
ward. accentuating each word.
"Foch,” said he, “was optimism It
self.”
An iron will was certainly the
great soldier’s chief char-.cteristic—
a will at once theoretical and prac
tical. From his early years in the
army he made Joseph de Maistre’s
precept his own: “A battle lost is a
battle 'which one believes he has
lost;” he was a man who, in a cam
paign, never admitted the loss of an
engagement. Recall his erdsr of the
day at the battle of the Saint Gond
marshes: "My right has crumbled,
my left has crumbled, my center has
crumbled, I am attacking.”
When in command of the war col
lege, on practice rides, spur to spur
with his pupils, he used to say:
"There are obstacles which cannot
be cleared at the first attempt, but
there are no obstacles which cannot
be cleared.”
--»♦
Too Many Laws.
From Omaha World-Herald.
The material for another com
pendious book of laws has now been
provided by the recently adjourned
•±5th session of the Nebraska legis
lature. To be exact, we have 164
more new laws. They will make a
good sized book, but a book which
will never become a best seller, and
one which few people in the state
will read, even it it is the lav/. Per
haps there will not be a dozen
people in the state, a few weeks
from now, who would be able to say
just what these new law's are.
When the last compilation o' the
stats statutes was made in 1922 it
resulted in a book about six inches
thick, one which it wo”ld take an
ordinary person about a year, in
spare tune, to read from cover to
cover. Since then there have been
ofur sessions of the legislature and
each of these has resulted in an
ordinary sized additional book of
laws, a book somewhat longer than
an ordinary popular novel.
Perhaps all this legislation is
necessary, but we don't think so.
Many people will differ with us,
however; "just haw many mayc bo
indicated by recalling that for every
law that was passed at the session
just closed more than six bills were
introduced. There were more than a
thousand bills, and only 1C4 laws,
The same proportion, perhaps, ap
plies to the four sessions that have
been held since the statutes were
compiled. Well over four thousand
new laws were proposed in that
time; perhaps only a little over six
hundred actually passed.
Moses led the Jewish tribes into
the Promised Land and set them up
in business with only 10 statutes
which see mto have covered every
thing so well that they are still
presumably in effect, and even dur
ing the last Nebraska legislative
session were several times piloted
as authority on the floor of the
house or senate.
Certainly, in any event, it Is true
that the Jewish people under Moses
could know all about what the law
is. But a Nebraska citizen might
spend his time from now until his
death and he wuuld still be ignorant
of most of the statutes that govern
his actions.
»«
Need World Court Now
From New York World
No better short argument for our
participation in the world court has
yet been made than Charles E.
Hughes' speech recently to the
American Society of International
Law. Taking the Kellogg pact as
his starting point, he shows how
its second clause—the pledge to
settle all disputes exclusively by
“pacific means”— makes our par
ticipation in the court indispens
able. How shall we settle our dis
putes? There will be times when
diplomacy will fail and conciliation
oe rejected. Arbitration will re
main, but arbitration has various
defects and limitations. None
should know this better than che
American Senate, which till re
cently maimed every arbitration
treaty wnicli went before it.
Where a settlement between two
nations is best reached by compro
mise, arbitrators can often find
that compromise; where it is best
sought by a precise determination
of facts and indicial principles, an
international court is perferable.
The court exists, settling quarrel
after quarrel with brilliant success,
supported by 50 nations, buildhig
up a structure of international law
as our supreme court has built up
a structure of interstate law. In
the light of the Kellogg pledge,
how can we justify our failure to
join it?
In closing Mr. Hughes throws out
a suggestion of the utmost impor
tance. The nations in the league
have a machinery for continuous
conference and consulttaion, which
can act if any aggressive member
threatens war. The United States
outside the league, has no way of
sharing in this consultation. Mr.
Hughes suggests a special treaty
arrangement, following the prece
dent of the four-power treaty of
1922, for giving us a share in con
sultative action. It is a courageous
proposal, but one which seems thor
oughly practical.
Thinks He's Got Enough.
From World's Work.
Once in a great while a man
knows when he has made all the
money he cares to make. Louis A.
Hazeltine, who taught engineering
at Stevens Institute, invented the
radion neutrodyne. He is said ta
have made $1,000,000 out of it.
Now he has gone to California,
where he plans to spend the rest of
his existence doine research work
in higher mathematics.
Q. Hew far is it from Jerusalem
to Nazareth? D O. C.
A. It is 141 kilometers or about 82
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I TH^- ,B£C\NiK4»NCr OF FOLnJELSS*. [ 1939. By Kf A scnvici. me.« J
Agricultural Credit Corporations of South Dakota
Make Formal Comvlaint of Present Credit Policies
M
Editor Sioux City Tribune: I am enclosing a
copy of a resolution which was adopted at a meet
ing of the Associated Livestock Loan Companies of
South Dakota.
Interest rates have advanced until in many
instances the borrowers are actually paying 10
per cent and restrictions of all kinds have been
added. Many of the members of this organization
were men who had experience with the War Fi
nance corporation and the new rules and regula
tions which have recently been imposed call to
mind the tactics of that organization when it de
cided to wind up its business.
The credit expansion of the past few years
has undoubtedly been one of the most important
factors in the disparity of the farm dollar; for
with inflation in the industrial section prices on
every commodity originating there had to rise.
Now when this inflation has reached a point where
it threatens to collapse if agriculture is to be pena
lized through high interest rates and restricted
credit it can only sink still lower in the economic
scale.
In my opinion it will not matter what kind
of farm relief we get there will continue to be a
disparity if every financial agency of the govern
ment is used to continue inflation in the industrial
section and deflation and liquidation in the agri
cultural section.
A. O. Steensland.
Lake Andes, S. D., May 3.
UNFAIR CREDIT CONDITIONS.
WHEREAS, there assembled at Huron, S. D.,
on April 8, 1929, in response to a regularly called
meeting, representatives of the various agricul
tural credit corporations in South Dakota doing
business with the Federal Intermediate Credit
bank of Omaha, and known as the Associated
Livestock Loan Companies of South Dakota, and
WHEREAS, there was a general discussion of
the problems incident to the relationship between
the Intermediate Credit bank and the various ag
ricultural corporations and more particularly a
review of the general financial situation in the
United States; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, by the Associated Live
, stock Loan Companies of South Dakota, that this
organization censure the action of any of its mem
bership for failure to conduct its business with the
Intermediate Credit bank in strict compliance with
approved business methods, and that the officers
of the Intermediate Credit bank adopt a policy of
severing connections with such corporation, rather
than to penalize all discounting corporations
through the enforcement of ultra-conservative
rules and regulations, tending to seriously hamper
the smooth working of the system, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we peti
tion the congress of the United States to amend
the Act to permit the intermediate credit banks
to accept "feeder” paper with maturity of less than
six months and suggest a minimum maturity of
90 days, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we most
emphatically call to the attention of the Federal
Farm Loan board the credit situation which has
developed as a result of an inflation, since 1922,
amounting to more than $20,090,000,000, which has
manifested itself chiefly in a stock market specu
lation and the inflation of values in real estate in
large industrial centers. That duirng this period
of expanding credits, amounting to more than
$20,000,000,000, the agricultural section of the
United States has been in a state of continued
liquidation, with the result that farm land values
have fallen to the lowest level since the passing of
the homestead period. That there is now evi
dence that the inflation has reached a point where
the credit situation has become an international
problem and that the federal reserve board will be
obliged to take drastic action to prevent a collapse
of the entire credit structure. That in the course
of such action an even further increase in interest
rates may be anticipated. That your petitioners
pray that in the inetrest cf farm relief and as a
very practical demonstration of the sincerity of
the government to render such relief, the federal
loan board exercise every facility at its command
to prevent an excessive increase in interest rates
and credit restrictions to the farmer borrowers.
That it is entirely unjust and unfair that the agri
cultural Interests now be penalized for an Infla
tion which has been confined entirely to the in
dustrial section of the United States and in which
agriculture has not participated to any appre
ciable extent.
That it is herein suggested that the Federal
Fe.rm Loan board cause to be paid into the vari
ous intermediate credit banks the authorized cap
ital, which has never been subscribed, and that
other government funds which may be legally In
vested in Intermediate credit bank debentures be
diverted to that use as a means of avoiding the i
necessity of the intermediate credit banks offering
their debentures on the open market; thus assur
ing an ample supply of credit, at a reasonable
Interest charge, to an industry which is just re
covering from a long and drastic deflation, and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of
this resolution be mailed to the Federal Farm
Loan board, the Federal Intermediate Credit bank
of Omaha, the South Daokta representatives In
the United States congress, agricultural credit cor
porations operating within the Omaha district,
and to all of the farm organizations in this terr'
tory.
Associated Livestock Loan Companies
of South Dakota.
A. O. Steensland, Secy.
free Press and
The Power Trust
Editorial Opinon of the Boston Post.
The sale of the Boston Herald
nd the Boston Traveler to the In
ternational PapeT company, a sub
ddiary of the International Paper
and Power company, wliich controls
.he New England Power company,
ts a blow to the principle of a free
and untrammeled press.
It also is a gravely improper ac
tion on the part of a great corpora
.ion which is the dominant interest
n tHe electric power industry of
New England.
At a time when we are engaged in
nationwide controversy over the
wisdom of allowing the great power
resources of the nation to pass into
the hands of huge combinations of
capital, and when the power com
panies are charged with spending
millions of dollars for propaganda
in certain newspapers, colleges and
public schools, the power trust of
Era of Depression.
From New York Telegram.
President Hoover says this is the
most lawless country in the world
and that disrespect for law is the
dominant issue before the American
people. Why? He proposes to have
a special investigation commission
find out.
Meanwhile he is sure that pro
hibition is not a major factor in
this disrespect f®r law. We disa
gree. But let that pass.
Apart from the disrespect in
which large numbers of law-abid
ing citizens hold the prohibition
iaw, and the disrespect engendered
by the lawlessness of enforcement
New England takes control of two I
of our leading newspapers.
W esubmit that this constitutes a
grave menace to the people of Mas
sachusetts.
We are rapidly approaching a sit
uation here when the public shall
decide just hew much latitude shall
be allowed to the pow’er companies
of the state and how best to protect
the people from the extortions of
any power monopoly.
Newsoapers should be free to pre
sent their readers the whole truth
about the power situation without I
fear or favor. Yet the International :
Paper and Power company seized
the opportunity to purchase con
trol of two large organs of public
opinion.
Is it at all likely that these news
papers, owned by the power trust,
can serve the public interest single
mindedly?
The power trust is seeking favors
from the people of Massachusetts.
It is vitally interested in every bit
of legislation concerning the electric
power and light and gas industries.
Yet it is not content with receiv
officers, there are other causes why
many intelligent citizens are com
ing to look upon certain laws and
the manner of their enforcement
as agencies of tyranny, bigotry and
oppression, menacing American lib
erty ad justice.
Hoover and his proposed com
mission will not have to look far
to find these causes. Any newspaper
any day will reveal them.
We respectfully commend to the
commission the following headlines
of one day:
“Civic and Church Bodies Fight
Poliea I aw—Oharaa Coal Denuties
ing a square deal from an independ
ent press. It spends several million
dollars to acquire control cf two of
the avenues by which news reaches
the public.
The boldness of this transaction
is exceeded only by its capacity for
harm, both to the iftizens and the
honor of the newspaper business.
--- ■ --
Q. Could Hawaii become one of
the United G„ates? G. S.
A. There is no constitutional law
which wculd prohibit the Island of
Hawaii s being given the status of
a state. It is already annexed and
is a territory of the United States,
having the usual territorial degree
of self government, with representa
tion by a delegate in the United
States congress.
Q. What is the last series of one
dollar bills that will be made in the
large size? N. A. R.
A. Bills of the series of 1923 are
the last of the large bills to be is
sued before the new series of small
bills, which will be the scries of
1923.
Murdered Worker—Legislature In
creased Power of Private Army.’ ”
“Mrs. Dennett Convicted for
Mailing Sex Tract—Pamphlet Writ
ten for Her Two Growing Sons—
Judge Refuses to Let Social Work
ers and Physicians Tell of Using
Brochure—Maximum Penalty May
Be Five Years in Prison and Five
Thousand Dollar Fine.”
“Negroes Demand Legal Rights—
Want enforcement of Constitutional
Amendment.
“Deputies Again Rush Strikers
with Fixed Bayonets—Forty Work
ers Seriously eBaten in Carolina
Textile Ktrif* ”
Federal Reserve Board Gives Way
Under Threatening by Wall Street
From Christian Science Monitor.
The daily press continues to give the impression that the s*ock
market and the federal reserve board are still engaged in warfare
over whether or not the period of intense speculation is to be curoed.
Contributing to the impression is an occasional statement of the
board, frequent high interest rates for call loans, and a rather un
certain tone In the market. In the opinion of some commenta tors,
the board is holding a tight rein and is responsible for the general
market condition. On the other hand, certain writers maintain that
the board has done nothing which justifies crediting it with any
appreciable amount of the liquidation which has taken place.
Doubtless, as In most controversies of this character, a po.Sit.on
midway between these two views is more nearly tl'e correct one.
It is nowr approximately 10 weeks since the board issued Its
famous warning In which it so strongly expressed Us disfavor of the
volume of bank credit which was being absorbed by security specula
tion. The warning was a direct threat that the board was going to
proceed along lines designed to curtail such credit a'norptior. and
the market broie badly from the news. The decline however, was
short lived, and In 10 days the market was again on an upward
movement which by irregular spurts carried prices back to their old
i levels- In the meantime, April 4, the beard issued another state
ment on the credit situation in which it said if "the de ired readjust?
ment Is not brought about by voluntary co-operation the federal re
serve system may adopt other methods of influencing the situation."
Tills mere statement, however, was looked upon as favorable taws,
for mere threats, if they are not backed up by action, have c? .sod
to carry any great weight with stack market speculators. Foi the
wishes of the board to have much influence more tangible evidence
of their strength must be given, something which at the pic cut time
means nothing more nor less than an advance of the rediscount rate.
Doubtless the board has long been considering an advance ol
the rediscount rate. It has spent innumerable aiternoons in secret
session, presumably discussing this problem, but so far but little has
resulted from them. Unquestionably these meetings have tended to
curtail the volume of speculation, although they have not ndded to
the prestige of the board or to the sympathy with whirl Its dearea
are received in Wall street. The limited open market operation:; ol
the reserve banks have also tended to reduce the amount of trading,
but neither these operations nor the secret meetings ar# of a nature
to correct the present condition. The maiket leeis that a tightening
of credit through open maiket operations is of very limited 3ignui
cance, since it has the assurance of Charles E. Mitchell, president ,'l
the National City bank, specifically, and of others tacitly, that if call
rates go too high the banks will come to the rescue. Sil long as these
banks can replenish their supply of funds by m!isc(*untlng at t/’*
reserve bank at 5 per cent this potential support is of such a real
nature that the only thing which need be apprehended is a sufficient
advance of the rediscount rate to remove this support.
Superficially, this apprehension does not appear tt be very strong
Closer analysis, however, indicates that it is fairly common and af
fords a logical explanation of the trend of speculation as reflected
in brokers' loans. For two weeks after the statement of the beard
on February 7 there was a substantial reduction in the volume oX
these loans. Then, in the absence of any real move on the part o*
the board to carry out its threat, the volume began an Increase which
in four weeks carried it to the highest level on record and $UM,00C,iXK)
above what it was at the time of the warning.
Such a volume was, of course, a direct rnrt lorcelul invitation ao
the board to take some action, and the market became trightened—
much as a little boy who has spilled jam in the cupboard. Cor. tf
quently a house cleaning was begun which continued for three week*
and which made it possible for brokers* loans to present a bettor
appearance. Thus, with the jam cleaned up before anyone paid very
much attention to its having been spilled, the market agam felt re
lieved and consequently was able to interpret the more recent s ate
ment of the board in a favorable manner.
How long the present undesir*ble and uncertain situation may
continue it is impossible to say. If the belief becomes common m
the “street” that a rate advance is highly probable, there will quite
surely be substantial liquidation- At the present time, however, the
atmosphere is fairly clear and tne market is in Just about the sans
position it was when the board first took public cognizance of the
volume of credit being iu.ed for speculation.
Gaia for Midwest.
From Kansas City Star.
Tba general order of the inter**
state commerce commission es
tablishing joint barge and rail rates
should settle permanently a trans
portation issue that long has been
troublesome. Relatinig as it does
virtually to the entire area that
might be served directly or indirect
ly by the government barge lints,
the order leaves the question of
combination rates no longer to be
worked out in voluntary or hap
hazard fashion, but to be deter
mined in all cases in accordance
with definite schedules. The river
lines will not have to jockey with
the railroads to obtain co-opera
tion; the roads are placed under
legal obligations to act Jointly in the
handling of freight.
The commission's order is clear
recognition of the public service
nature of the waterways. Its im
plication is that the river trans
portation has been established
primarily in response to a public
need; that the need can be met
properly only where the Joint rates
are made effective, and that the
railroads as public carriers are
under legal obligation to enter into
and maintain the rate agreements.
An original disposition of the
roads to question the soundness of
that principle and to contest the
Denison act. on which the commis
sion based its decision, had been
softened into an indicated readi
ness to co-operate with the barge
units voluntarily. Whatever might
have come of negotiations along
that line, it is a decided gain for the
whole inland area that thp case has
been disposed of by a single sweep
ing order.
--»♦ -
Australia Is Hobbled.
Annie Osborne in the Century Mag
azine.
We in Australia are saddled with
state owned railroads, built with
borrowed money; and thus the new
era has found us loaded down with
a burden we cannot get rid of, how
ever much we desire to do so.
When governments operate any
essential industry annual deficits
can be easily passed on to the tax
payers with an airy promise of do
ing better next year; for this rea
son our railroads have been a lia
bility instead ot an asset.
With the staggering fact before
them that th elraction of the future
is going to be railless and gas pro
pelled, our politicians are still imi
tating King Canute; but such con
duct must sooner or later come to
an end and they will have to bow
to the Inevitable. Such huge sums
Agreed at Last.
Kikeriki, Vienna.
Wife: It is strange that men al
ways want sons. My father was al
ways sorry that I was not a boy.
Husband: So am I.
-« ♦
Q. Please name some of the old
est people in the world. A. D.
A. Such records are not kept, and
reports of existence of longevity are
not always reliable. The following
ere some of the oldest people living
in the world today: Hah-Wee-N' n
Nah?Shuk, an American Inman—
118 years old; Mme. Cosyris, of
Greece; Zaro Aga, a Turk—146 years
old; Mr. Charles Quick of Canada,
IPS vaaxs aid.
have been sunk In our great mileage
of railrcads, and such enormous in
terest bills and sinking funds have
to be reckoned with, that w.„n every
snoce'ding deficit a wad gees up
that the service grows worse and the
prices higher—that is, on ail out the
interstate and suburban lines.
In the cities the vicious policy ol
taxing competition off the roads
has been pursued hitherto; but the
temper of the people well not en
dure .auch more of that. Infinitely
worse for the progress of the coun
try is the policy pursued in extra
urban territory. Side by side with
the almost panicky dismay of the
financial heads of government ovet
the new order of things, comes
their determination not to help Id
the creatron of good roads, because
it might convert the myriads of lo
cal railroads into scrap iron. Yet
in so vast a country where primary
production is our very life, quick
and efficient and cheap transit it
the main essential.
The first man who solves the
problem of how to convert our al
ready antiquated rural railroads in
to arterial roads for motor traction
to the seaboard and the cities will
be transformed from a po!P.?ian in
to a statesman; but we shall proba
bly have to await a new generation
before the leaders will be able to
grasp or will dare to enunciate such
a Napoleonic idea.
When it is on accomplished fact,
however, many of Aix/tralia’s other
problems will solve themselves.
-« «
Q. How many stomachs has a
sheep? B. P.
A. A sheep has four stomachs,
each of which has a different func
tion.
'^TTr’T 'T'r'r'rr’r ▼ t t -r t t t t
4 4
-< IF AT FIRST TOU 4
4 DON’T SUCCEED 4
4 Milwaukee.—To be, or not to 4
4 be, the wife of August T.mper, 4
4 has been a dominant qucst.on 4
4 with Mrs. Elizabeth Tirr.per for 4
4 a long time. 4
4 Six times she filed suit to 4
4 have the marriage dissolved 4
4 and six times the documents 4
4 were withdrawn. Now the sev- 4
4 enth set of papers has been 4
4 placed on record and Mrs. Tim- 4
4 per again asks to be freed from 4
4 the marriage contract m2de in 4
4 1901. She charges cruel and 4
4 inhuman treatment. 4
4 ♦
44444444444444f444t
..♦ ■+
Hard on the Horse.
From Answers.
Stout: I’ve got to reduce! The
doctor recommends horseback rid
ing.
Thin: Is it satisfactory?
Stout: Not exactly. I'm not losing
weight, but I'm falling off.
—
Q. Howt long has the pope lived in
the Vatican? Who built it? F. J,
A The Vatican has been the prin
cipal residence of the pope since
1377. The original building was
erected ov Pope Synunachus, 198 to
514 and the buildings have been
added by practically every pope
&inoa