The Red Cloud chief. (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.) 1873-1923, June 17, 1920, Image 8

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    RED CLOUD, NEBRASKA, CHIEF
Carlsbad Now
b K WhEurooe ?
i
.O
Karlovy Vary
How far is Europe
from financial and
social bankruptcy?
A summary of facts
gathered first hand by
Henry P; Davison.
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ksmmiW far In Europe from financial
id I" I and social bankruptcy?" Is n
I I question of vital Importance to nil
tlu world. Herewith Ih a concrete
Htimniary of facts of great viiltio
on this question, gathered at llrst
liitnil liy Henry l. Davison. Con
cernlng those facts mid the man
who gathered them Ilowlnnd
Thomas In tliu Now Yurie Sunday
World makes this statement:
At this tlmu Mr. II. 1 Davison,
partner In tliu linn of J. 1. Mor
gan, seomsjnoro thoroughly qunll
(led than ithy other person In Amer
ica to express an authorltatlvo
opinion on conditions In Europe.
I III llllK nil Vtriimn1v L-ooli lOnnr mlml Tin ta n
- -.....,.., ...., ...... ......... --- .u ..
man of tliu largest alTalrs, accustomed ly many
jycnra of business experience to grasp tliu essen
tial details of complex situations. And on top of
tills unusual personal qualifications as a trustwor
thy' observer and reporter, he has Just, through
,1iIk position as head of an International organlzu
jtlon, had put In his possession the latest nnd com
jpletest muss of Infornuitlou obtainable anywhere.
ile Is chalnuan of the board of governors and
Wiercforo ex-olllclo head of the League of lied
Cross societies which comprises all the Ited Cross
societies In the world except those of the central
powers, and has Just returned from the first con
tTercnco of this organization, held In Geneva.
At this conference the European situation was
the main object of consideration, nnd to give n
jfcails for discussion and action, exports wero
brought In from the Held all over Europe nnd
their first-hand reports were received nnd exam
ined. The result was the composite picture of
"post-war Europe In the winter nnd spring of 1020
which Mr. Davison holds In his mind.
By fixed rule, Mr. Dnvlson does not glvo'lnter
vIcwb to Individual representatives of the. press,
nor write, signed statements for lndlvldunl papers.
Ho has not broken his rule In this Instnnce. This
Is not an Interview. But when his unique posi
tion ns ii source of Information wns pressed on
his attention, he grunted the Sundny World ac
cess to his data, nnd what follows may bo tnken ns
a substantially accurate nnd complete statement
of the facts as ho sees them. Its significance can
therefore hardly be overemphasized.
"The ontnstrophe," wrote Mr. Balfour, chnlr
mnn of tho Council of the League of Nations, to
the lied Cross conference at Geneva, "Is of un
exampled magnitude," and In the same communi
cation referred to "the horrors with which we nro
faced," nnd stated they had reached "appalling
proportions."
These are very strong expressions, coming
from n personage of such standing. They Indicate
n recognition of disaster.
Is there any hope of setting mnttcrs rlght7 Cnn
Europe "come bnck?" Or Is she bankrupt? Tho
present summary of known facts will be an at
tempt to Indicate nn answer to thnt question.
At the outset It Is necessnry to clarify the sit
uation by making certain distinctions. Europe
stretches over 3,800,000 squnre miles. Its people
number 400,000.000, more than a quarter of tho
globe's estimated r-P(i-itloti. Furthermore, at
present Europe ns a unit Is non-existent, If It ever
existed. It has been split by the war Into various
groupings. In which conditions widely differ.
The neutrals, unrnvaged Spain, Switzerland,
Denmark, Norway and Sweden, with over 40,000,
000 population, constitute ono group. Defeated
Germany nnd Austria form nnotber. Russia Is n
third. Thc "Big Four" of the European nllles
England, France Italy and Belgium nre another.
And the les stabilized countries of the central
and eastern regions are a fifth. Between theso
groups conditions vary greatly, and this must be
kept In mind In considering whether Europe Is
solvent or bankrupt.
About our principal nllles In the west there Is
no question. They are strongly going concerns
ntlll, and, despite their own distress, nre doing
their best to pull their neighbors out of the Slough
of Despond. The French peasant Is working, nnd
the French artisan, despite a sad need of rnw
niiiterluN, has not lost his habit of Industry nnd
thrift. TIo encouraging "fact about France today
Is that her people aro fully alive to the serious
ness of her problem and aro going forward brave
ly to solvo It.
Italy, too, despite her great shortage of raw
material, Is looking forward, not backward, led
by ono of the great men produced by the war, Mr.
Nlttl. Ho Is a truly wise statesman, nnd under
his leadership Italy cnn be rolled on to do her
part by herself and her neighbors. Belgium, as
mleht hnvu been expected, Is strongly on tho mend,
ami England Is meeting her problems .of reoon
itructlon with quiet courage and sturdy common
Jeiisp. She Is doing each dny'u work, and at tho
'(lino time rendering nil assistance her resources
swill permit to the countries on the continent.
Belgium and France and Italy and England
nre asking no charily of tho United States. Their
peoples aro us proud as wo art- eager as, we nro
to work out their own national destinies and car
ry on their own businesses. They seek only the op
portunlty to regain their economic strength. And
those countries have a population of 125,000,000.
Combining them with the 40,000,000 neutrals. It
appears that about a third of the peoplo of En
rope could not bo referred to as bankrupt. Some
of them are In serious dllllcultles, but they hnvo
plenty of hope left, ns well as energy, for tho
tnsks of reconstruction.
This distinction drawn, and It bolng under
stood tlmt Germany, becauso her problems nro so
peculiar to, herself, Is left out of the discussion,
It Is not too much to say thnt In nil tho rest of
Europe excepting, possibly, Ilussln, nbout which
reports nro conflicting civilization hns broken
down. For something llko 200,000,000 people,
dlsense, beronvenient and suffering aro present
to practically ever household, whllo food nn.i
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Scene In Karlovy Vary.
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clothing arc Insufliclcnt to mnko llfo toleruble.
Particularly In the broad belt lying bctwucn tho
Baltic and the Blnck seas there Is appalling mis
cry. This great area Includes the new Baltic
states, Poland, Czccho-Slovakln, Ukraine, AustTln,
Hungary, Iloumnnla, Montenegro, Albnnlu nnd
Sorbin, to sny nothing of Bussln eastward and
Armenia to the south. In all that region there Is
almost complete paralysis of national life and In
dustry. All thnt part of Europe has today n tremen
dous number of Idle people. Many of them want
to work. But there Is a great shortago of raw
mnterlals with which to work, and the Import
export situation seems all but hopeless. Such
has been tho output of paper money nnd so much
greater Is tho need of Imports thnn tho possibil
ity of exports under existing conditions that theso
countries hnvo nothing, either money or goods,
with which to purchase from outside what they
need to sustnln llfo Itself, to say nothing of sup
plies for the revival of Industry. They totter on
the brink of utter ruin, from which nothing but n
helping hand can mve them.
The depreciation In the currencies of somo ot
theso countries, as valued In dollars. Is unbellov
nble. According to market quotations of April 10,
It rnn ns follows:
Austria 07.53
Hungary 07.48
Germany 02.32
Greece 43.207o
Iloumnnla 01.81
Poland 07.08
Czecho-Slovnkla 02.78
In other words, If the peoples of theso coun
tries tried to buy materials nnd supplies In Amer
ica at tho preheat market values of their curren
cies, Austria would have to pay approximately 40
times the nnriunl cost, Germany 13 times, Greece
Just double, Czccfeo-Slovukln 14 times nnd Po
land CO.
These figures nre ofllclal nnd nro tho only in
dex which can briefly give nny comprehension of
the economic conditions lnsldo theso countries.
Their currencies aro depreciated because they
have neither gold nor sufllclcnt production with
which to maintain their normnl position with tho
United States or with their Immediate neighbors.
Until each such country Is nble to produce suffi
cient to maintain Itself, either from within or by
importing In oxchnngo for gold or goods, It can
not hope for normal condlttons, If Indeed It cnn
hopo to survive. Thero Is nothing dlfllcult of
comprehension nbout tho sltuutlon. Somewhere,
somehow, somo time, thoso countries must be
como possessed of food, clothing, raw materials
and the means of transporting them, or they
must perish. Economically and politically, they
aro crippled to a point threatening complete
paralysis, while at tho snmo tlmo tho peoplo nro
ravaged by destitution and dlsense. Tho Inronds
of the latter on tho war-worn and undernourished
population has readied tliu proportions which
Mr. Balfour called "appalling."
Men, women nnd children nre dying by thou
sands, nnd over vust once civilized urens there nro
neither inedlrnl appliances nor medical skill suffi
cient to cope with the snnltnry crisis.
In tho Ukraine, winter of 101S-10, typhus nnd
Influenza affected most of tho population. In vil
lages of 2,000 and .'1,000 hnlf the people would hu
111 of typhus at the same time. Many physicians
attended a territory 40 miles In diameter. Some
who bad 20,000 to 30,000 typhus patients could
get no medical supplies whatsoever, nnd could
give only oral encouragement to their sick. And
this year the condition Is even worse, Pauperism
Is becoming more nnd more Intensn. Prices havo
udvnnred steadily.
In Austria, according to n report dated Feb
ruary 12, there wero In Vienna rations for three
weeks. Peoplo w o apathetic, fntnllstlc and
tired, nnd there wns an epidemic of rinnolng One
dnnco was attended by 4,000 people, half of whom
had had no dinners. Jlefuslng to go home, they
dnnced until exhausted. One hundred thousnnd
school children wore underfed nnd diseased ns n
result of food shortage, lack of fuel and Innde
qunto hospltnl facilities. Crime was Increasing
among tho child population, hunger sometlme
driving little boys to attempts at murder. The
population of Vienna was literally famished. The
general death rate had Increased 40 per cent
elnce 1013, and the denth rate from tuberculosis
250 per cent. Mnny children of one year had not
surpassed their weight at birth. The middle clnss,
living on snlarles, were selling their belongings
to buy even the government ration. One meal for
one person cost 0 kronen nt the municipal kitch
ens, while tho snlary of n professor was 77 kro
nen a month. An overcont cost three months' snl
ary of a court Justice, and a second-hand Renault
automobile sold for an amount equal to 17 years'
salary of the .chancellor.
The following is taken from a communication
from Sir William Goode, British director ot re
lief: "All ofllcla. nnd other reports which reach me
give no hope of Improvement In the situation In
Central nnd Eastern Europe. The misery of the
outlook In many pnrts, particularly In Austria,
Poland nnd Armenia. Is w;orse than ever.
The marshalled chnrlty of the world, government
nnd unofficial, will not aloQc heal the disease
from which Europe Is suffering. Increased pro
duction nnd the restoration of economic order out
of political and economic chaos nre the only solu
tions of the problem that now defies the Ingenuity
of those who fnce it."
Such Is the plcturo of conditions In the spring
of this year of our Lord 1020 according to the
Information gathered fiy Mr. Dnvlson during n
two months' stny overseas, where he Joined In
conference with representatives of 27 nations.
How Is thnt nld to be rendered? A week ngo
last night, nt n dinner given to him nt tho Will-dorf-Astorln
hotel, Mr. Dnvlson spoko at length
of conditions ns he had found them, and Indicated
what seemed to him the only 'possible courses of
rcmedlnl action. To quote from portions of his
speech :
"Any voluntary aid, to becomo effective, cnn
onl, follow the provision of such essentials as
food, clothes, nnd transportation, which must bo
given If the peoples nro to live nnd be restored to
u condition of self-support, nnd tho need of which
Is so vnst that It cannot bo given by voluntary
organizations, but must be supplied by govern
ments. Upon nssurnnco from tho league of na
tions thnt food, clothing nnd transportation will
be supplied by governments, the Li.muo of Bed
Cro.ss societies shnll nt once formulate plnns for
the Immediate extension of voluntary relief with
in the nffected districts, appealing to the peoples
of the world, through tho lied Cross organiza
tions, for doctors, nurses nnd other necessnry
personnel, medical supplies, diet foodstuffs, nnd
fcuch money as may be required.
"Wo are going to find out that we cnn no more
escape thu influence of the European situation of
today than wo wero able to escape the war Itself.
You cannot hnvo one-half of tho world stnrvlng
nnd the other half cntlng. We must help put Eu
rope on Its feet or we must participate In Eu
rope's misery. We find ourselves the
only country possessed of mnny of the supplies
which Europe needs and which cannot be pur
chased or given in sufllclwit volume on credit.
As n nntlon we should nt once arrange to plnce
within the reach of those peoples that which they
need to snvo them and stnrt them on their way
to recovery. Tho situation hns devel
oped so far nnd so seriously that thero Is no pos
sibility of Its being met.. In nny other way.
"I have always been nn optimistic American,
becauso of my supreme confidence In the ultlinnte
Judgment of the American public upon nny ques
tion, submitted to them. I believe thnt as soon
ns wo ron II7.0 the truth nnd effect of siuii state
ments ns I hnvo made, we will take steps worthy
of tho traditions of the Amerlcnn peoplo. There
fore the responsibility upon everyone of us Is to
do whatever may bo In onr power to the end
thnt tho Amerlcnn peoplo mny hnvo n clenr tin
derstnndlng of what It oil means, thnt they may
the sooner dednro themselves. Not un
til tho prior nnd fundamental step Is taken of fur
nishing by government action tho necessnry cle
inontnls, fond, clothing nnd transport, will we, the
Amerlcnn people, properly hnvo established our
selves among'tho peoples of tho world and bo In a
position to leave n creditablo heritage to those
who aro to come after."
HEN EUROPE'S best ad-
vertlsed health resort
nwoko on morning to find
its postofllco changed from
Oniittbnd, Austria, to Karlovy Vary,
Czecho-SIovakla, the mental shock to
tho German Inhabitants must hnvo
been somewhat like tho occasional ex
plosions of Its hidden wells, from
which Its famous mineral wnters come,
buys a bulletin of tho National Geo
graphic society.
Though it Is located In Bohcmta, the
Englishman had Introduced nftcrnoon
ten, nnd the Amerlcnn hud rande ten
nis popular, but tho 17,000 permanent
residents, who remained In Carlsbad
after tho annual Influx of some 70,000
visitors, were essentlnlly German, nnd
Karlovy Vary remains so, according
to tho press reports.
Hence it Is easy to understand how
this Island of Germnns, under Czech
rule, approached a political boiling
point. Dispatches told of open dis
play of Emperor Franz Joseph's por
trait, and of the refusal of the native
sons, who llvo by means of the saline
wnters nnd salt derivatives, to call
Carlsbad by any other name.
Discovered by Charle IV.
Traditions had It, and the Inhabit
ants preferred to believe, that Em
peror Charles IV. discovered the heal
ing power of the wntcr that gush
through the vents of the mammoth lid
that nature clnpped down over n
seething caldron far beneath the sur
face. Atop tjhls vast subterranean lake of
molten mineral and hissing steam a
river, the Tepel, flows lazily down a
narrow valley whose slopes are soft
ened by beautiful trees and traversed
by winding trails and pnths. Among
these, somo physicians lntlmnte, the
health hunters gnlned the rosy cheeks
and buoyant spirits for which the
springs receive overmuch credit.
It Is Just before the Tepel enters the
Eger thnt tho underground strenms
pierce the crust nt numerous points,
nnd furnish tho waters used for bath
ing nnd drinking by those who could
afford to go there; and either bottled
or boiled down by tho millions of gal
lons, for Its snlt nnd soda content, and
shipped to all quarters of tho globe.
During tho senson at pre-war Carls
bad the guest at any of the numerous
hotels would be awakened nt 0 o'clock,
or even earlier, and would arise to
Join tho procession townrd tho springs.
At n popular one, such ns the Sprudel,
from which flow 440 gallons of water
a minute, nt n temperature of 103
degrees, Fnhr., he might hnvo to wnlt
15 or 20 minutes until n whltecnpped
maid served him. For his protection,
lnrge glass covers wero erected over
many of the springs, and from an air
plane Carlsbad might resemble a field
of conservntbrles.
'But to linger too long among tho
pprlncs of Carlsbad Is to miss Its hls-
torv. Hero there Is a grim sort of
symbolism. For It wns here, Just 100
years ago last August, that Metternlch
plotted to clump down tho lid upon
free speech, free press, nnd untrnm
moled tenchlng In the Germnn stntes.
Origin of the "Carlsbad Decrees."
There wero signs thnt liberal ngltn
tlon among Germans wns reaching
Ibe boiling point. Autocracy wns
threatened. Prince Metternlch of Aus
trln arranged to hnve sympathetic rep
resentation from Austria, Prussia, nnd
seven other stntes of tho Germnn con
federation at Carlsbad, nnd then call
ed them together In n hurry, under
pretext of need for summary nctlon.
Out of the conference came tho fa
mous "Carlsbad Decrees," and there
can bo llttlo doubt but that tho tinder
for tho world explosion In 1014 was
lighted ot Carlsbad. There was formu
lated tho policy, later carried to a
relentless conclusion by tho Germnn
empire, of press censorship, of state
regulation of tenchlng tn, universities
and all other schools, and a commis
sion wns created to Inquire Into utter
nnces opposed to the monarchical prin
ciple which every German stato was
pledged to maintain.
Only sixteen years before Metternlch
conceived this method of political re
pression, Carlsbad was nearly blown
up by tho forces beneath tho crusted
surface. Now, to quote a traveler,
"Tho njpst dangerous portions are firm
ly battened down, tinder solid masonry,
held together with Iron and steel,
whllo tho rest ot this Motternlchlnn
policy of repression Is modified by the
modern Idea of providing safety
valves, through which rise tho
springs."
Capitalizing the mineral waters wns
tho principal Industry, but not tho
only one, of Carlsbad. In the vicinity
were porcclnln works, nnd the shopper
of the dnys when the wealth and' fash
ion of three continents gathered thero
might purchnso Bohemian glass nnd
beautiful trinkets of many kinds, rep
resenting the Czech handicraft.
MOjJRN OVER LOST .CHANCES
Few Who Do Not Claim to Have Hd
Great Opportunities, and
Lost Them.
. In nn article In People's Magazine
Hugh S. Fullerton tells of millions, of
dollars' worth of Ideas running U
waste.
"I'd rather hnve the Idea 1 failed to
follow up thnn the ones 1 made, my,
money out of.''
That was said to me by a man who
ranks among the wealthiest In the
country nnd who" Is credited, among
his associates, with almost supernat
ural wisdom In evolving Ideas and see
lug their possibilities.
"Every mnn had one or more big
chances to get -to tho top," he contin
ued. "If you don't believe thnt, Just
get into nny crowd of men. tell soma,
yarn of nn opportunity that you had,
and overlooked, and then listen to
them. Chances are every one of them
will hnve a better story of lost oppor
tunity than you told, nnd nine out ot
ten of them will tell a wonderful story
of how some other mnn 'stole' theli
great Ideas and got rich or famous
from thenf. Exnmlno Into these stories
and you will find, In the majority of
cases, that the mnn who clnlras to hnvo
originated the Idea dtd not do It at
all, that he did not see tho possibili
ties of It, or thnt, even If he did, bo
wns not smart enough or lacked the
Inltlntlvo to follow It up.
Thero nro more chances for men to
get rich now thnn there ever were bo
fore In the history of the world, nnd
more big chances being overlooked.
Whether It Is because men lack faith
In themselves or because they prefer
n humming bird In the hnnd to nn
onglo In the nlr, I don't know. They
seem to think a mnn must be a supcr
gcnlus or n grent Inventor." J
I reminded him Jhnt he had n rep
utation ns nn originator, as an Invent
or nnd genius. In addition to being a
successful organizer. ,
"Bunk," ho asserted. "I do not
claim to have originated anything. My,
success bus been due to seeing the pos
sibilities of nn lden and working out
tho detnlls so as to opply the Idea U
practical business. Probably a thou
sand .iplen thought of the snme things I
did bitforo I wns born, nnd did not de-
velopllhem. Somo of my most success
ful Ideas probably were tnlkcd over
nnd dreamed over by hundreds who
foiled to work them out practically."
Insect Idiot.
Scientists tell us that when a grass
hopper catapults .his corporate self
Into space by tho propulsive power of
his hinged hopping poles he has no
Idea where ho St gi.n to light. It
may bo In tho Inko or the brush lira
or the kerosene cnn or tho pansy bed ;
It is nil the same to him. Examine his
countenance. IIo looks tho perfect
fool: At tho top of tho bend two
bulging eyes ns expressive ns tho eyo
of a dend carp; and below this Is n
nose llko a wooden plowshare. This Is
all. Thero Is no forehead, no brain
and no room for one. Q'ho grnsshop-'
per, wo find, Is an Insect Idiot. Tho
best ho ever did was to keep out from
tinder tho foot of his betters. Minne
apolis Journal. .
Big Devil Fish.
Four members of the Miami aqunrl
um association recently went on a
fishing trip In the Bahamas and caught
a 3,000-pound devil-fish.
1
Citizen's First Duty.
Tho citizen Is tho scrvaut of the
state, and. is bound to use all his en
dowments for tho common good.
Bishop Wcstcott. w , t
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