Grand Forks herald., 1917-02-24

ItnorerOfe, tndt ne may DO returned
to his own country without havinl
been formally received by the Amer
ican authorities.
\ X x X X
The financial affairs of the war ar,
always interesting. Loan after LOAF
has been made in each Of the warrinl
countries. and Great Britain has jus
concluded another loan of stupendoul
size. reaching some $500. 0.000, 900
The sums involved in this war ar,
beyond the grasp Of the Imagination
but We have become so accustomed
to seeing things done on a gigantic
scale that a new loan running intt
billions has become commonplace.
sum greater than the entire cost o1
our civil war Is now borrowed in 9
few weeks, and the securities are alb.
sorbed by the British people as 8
mere matter Of routine.
+ X Il X 4
The new kingdom Of Poland, ere.
ated by the Teutons for war purposes
is having its difficulties. The Poles
themselves do not appear especially
enthusiastic over the steps which
have been taken to "free" them. The
creation Of this new kingdom out OF
territory wrested for the time being
from Russian control, to the exclusion
Of other Polish territory, which re-
mains as before in the hands of Ger
many and Austria. was fulsomely de-
scribed as step for safeguarding the
rights of the little nations. The proc
lamation was followed by steps for
the enlistment of Poles as members
Of the Teutonic forces. The Polish
people as a whole are displaying no
interest in the new government which
has been created for them, and they
are anything but enthusiastic over
the opportunity afforded them of add
ing several hundred thousand troops
to the Teutonic armies which now
hold forcible possession Of their ter
ritory.
X X X X X
Congress has sidetracked most 9TH
er legislation in order to make prep
aration for the war which is regarded
as more than probable. Army and
navy bills carrying large appropria-
tions have been under consideration
in the two houses. and plans for the
recruiting OF an armed force Of con-
siderable size have received some at
tention. One important measure just
passed by the senate is the espionage
bill, which provided several penalties
for those who acquire improperly or
seek to use for the benefit Of foreign
nations facts relating to the defenses
of the United States. The penalties
range all the way from death to a
$4,000 fine.
X F. X X
Another measure passed Is the
a form of government for Porto Rico
more in accordance with American
ideals. The bill provides for the citi-
zenship Of the Porto Ricans and for
the creation in the island of a regular
form Of representative government.
X X X X X
The senate has decided that the
SolOAIlUl1l LCdIy CdlIiOI OC pdSSCu ot
this session. This treaty has been
pending for a long time. Its purpose
Is to clear up the misunderstanding
left as result Of the secession of
Panama and our acquisition of the
canal strip. The charge has been
made that under the administration
Of President Roosevelt, the Panama
secession was fomented by the Amer
ican government for the purpose of
obtaining possession of the canal strip
on better terms than could be OBJ
tanned from Colombia, to which ma
ton the canal property belonged.
This charge. has been made and de-
MED. The treaty as originally arrang-
ed provided for the payment of
Colombia of $25,o00.o00 for all claims
which the Colombian government had
against that of the United States This
was subsequently reduced to $15.000,-
000 The feature to which the great
est objection has been raised Is the
inclusion in the treaty of language
which Is interpreted as an admission
VI "AoiiS ny lHo CNlISO
States, and of apology therefor. 1t
is this feature. rather than the pay
| ment Of money. which has delayed
the ratification Of the treaty.
X x * X X
Another law which is attracting no
little attention is the inclusion by both
houses of an amendment to the pos
tol hill 1x-1i -
radical change in the prohibition sit
uation throughout the country. The
salient feature Of the amendment is
it's prohibition of the shipment in in
terstate commerce Of liquors into any
state where the manufacture and sale
Of liquor is prohibited. The effect
of this legislation will be to prevent
the shipment of liquors into any state
which has prohibition law of any
kind, although the state itself may
not have prohibited the importation
and use of such liquors. In these
columns this feature Of the law was
| reviewed recently. and It was pointed
out that the constitutionality of this
law would undoubtedly be contested
on the ground that it is an unlawful
extension Of federal authority over the
affairs of the states, and that it Is
discriminatory in that It prohibits in
one state that which it permits in
another The principle, Of course, is
entirely different from that involved
in the Webb-Kenyon law, which
merely adjusts the federal practice
in conformity with the laws Of the
several states. This law requires