Milford chronicle., 1921-12-23
UNCLE TED'S
BEDTIME STORIES
CONFIDENCE RESTORED-Ehe
CONFERENCE A SUCCESS


it MUST be so.' Jack was very EN-
phatic in his belief that the confer
ence on the limitation of armamen
in Washington was having a good eff
feet ON business. His chum, Freddie
called such statements bunk, Dut
as usual, that did not bulge JacH
from his conviction that he was right
'I'u Just bet you hddies are haV-
ing your usual agreement to ols-
agree" was Uncle Ted's comment on
the scene of conflict.
Nothing much" replied Jack, "ex-
cept that Freddie won't admit the con-
ference has accomplished anything
and he won't believe that it has help
ed business. Can't you tell us some
thing about it so we can all under
stand that side of it more?"
Let us go back a little hrst' salo
Uncle Ted. There is word of ten
letters that means more than hun
dreds of other words put together
That word is CONFIDENCE. You,
Jack. and you, Ruth. and you, Fred
die. all have CONFIDENCE in your
fathers and mothers. If they tell you
something you believe it without hes
itating a moment because you have
CONFIDENCE in them. have CON-
FIDENCE in my business associates.
If 1 didn't have it l couldn't do bus
mess. We must have CONFIDENCE
in our country or else we fail to
measure up as one hundred per cent
Americans.
Now yon will ask, What has that
IN do with the conference? Just this:
Before this conference met in Wash
ington, and dating back to the begin
ming of the war, the people OF the
world had lost CONFIDENCE. This
had a bad effect upon business every
where. Business men have been over
powered by the conditions confronting
them when they attempted to trans
act commerce. The, war left the rate
of exchange of money in muddIed
Istate. Shipping has been almost at
standstill, labor has been discomfort
ed, there has been a shortage of raw
materials, and every one has feu
that it would take years and years to
get the business of the world back to
where it was prior to the Great War.
But the patient is rapidly improv-
ing. and the minute the great cOun-
tries meeting in Washington annOunc-
ed that they had agreed to work out
a plan to cut down naval expenses the
patient sat right up in bed ana
shouted for joy. You see, kiddies, no
one thought about this conference
from the standpoint of improving bus
mess conditions, but it certainly is
having that effect. We think our taxes
are high. Perhaps they are, Dut tne
foreign countries have been Dur1eu
under taxes, and this has not only
brought a lack of confidence in busl-
ness. but has pressed the people down |
tn such an extent that they have felt |
that normal conditions were things Oh
the past. Everywhere, now, rundown
railroads. buildings, ships and factor
les are receiving attention. The min
1te the news flashed around the world
that the powers in Washington had
agreed to cut down navies people put
on broad smiles and took hope, and
returned, for they
could see on the horizon the dawn OF
a day of lower taxes, more attention
TO the business of peace, and more
money spent on the necessities OF
mo less a man than Gov. W. P. G.
Harding, of the Federal Reserve
Board said that in recent speech IN
that the work of the arms
conference had already Stabilized fl
nance. He said: The notable advance
n sterling exchange which began
With the assembling of the confer
,nce is not a mere coincidence
Freddie and Ruth say that they
AVE a treaty, too," said Jack. /
"a very important treaty has been I
ormed, Jack, but, of course, it has to |
,e accepted by three other nations,
ust as it must be ratified by our Sen
tie before the United States really !
grees to it. This treaty is known as
he 'Four-PoWer' Pacific Treaty be- '
ause four nations are concerned,
amely, the United States, Great Brit E
in, France, and Japan. This treaty, '
re all hope and feel, will preserve
eace in the Pacific where these var i
1us countries have interests which d
ave caused controversies in the
asst. Some have said that it is just d
Ike the dangerous Article x of the "
-orld club plan, but it is not. It is tt
rief and frank international docu-
lent which binds the four powers to e
gree that if any question shall arise Il
yer the regions of the Pacific be- c.
veen any of these four powers that
IN not be settled by ordinary diplo- is
acy, they will join in a conference M
which the whole matter will be
,ferred for consideration and ad- B
stment.' 81
"This agreement, according to the G.
eaty as it was signed by representa- 81
yes of these four countries, would
ay in effect for ten years, and after tn
at it would continue in force sub R
ct to the right of any of the high
parties to terminate it pc
ION twelve months notice. When it he
,es go into effect it will also bring 81
an end the so-called Anglo-Japan-
e alliance, an agreement between to
eat Britain and Japan, which was w
lde in London on July Is, 1921.
$50, kiddies, we can honestly re- M
ce and say with M. Viviani, head of wi
2 French delegation, that The con-
renee has fully and entirely sue Gil
eded,' and with President Harding
len he said that the conference had lis
cceeded beyond our fondest
pes.'" to-