Taiban Valley news., 1921-11-11

was postponed until the next day, No
vember IL. In good time for that
momentous event, Premier Briand and
his colleagues from France arrived
on the steamship Lafayette, and a
little later Arthur ]. Balfour and his
associates came from England Mr..
Balfour will be acting chief OF the
British delegation, because the Irish
negotiations have caused Premier
Lloyd George to delay his departure
from London. Mr.. Balfour is ac-
companied by the earl of Cavan, Air
Vice Marshal Higgins, Sir Maurice
Hankey, Miles Lampson, Sir John Jor-
don and a large staff of clerks and
experts. The Italians also arrived,
and the large number Of japanese del
egates and advisors have been COM
ing for days.
With the assistance of a big ad-
visory committee that was named last
week, the American delegates have
formulated the armament reduction
proposals they will submit to the con-
ference. Details of the plan, Of
course, were withheld for diplomatic
reasons, but it Is understood to aim
at Joint agreement that would oper-
ate to cut down naval construction
without changing the relative naval
strength of the United States, Great
Britain and Japan. The Americans,
1t is believed, have no definite plan
for limitation Of land armament, and
it may be the conference will come
to no agreement on that matter.
Japan's representatives In the con-
ference were unusually talkative last
week. Besides denying emphatically
the oft-heard charges that the gov
ernment Of Japan is an autocracy,
and that the milltarists control it.
they let 1t be known that their plea
for expansion ON the Aslatic main
| land will not be based on over-popu-
lation, but on the necessity of obtain
ing the enlarged supply Of raw ma
terials and other resources that will
enable Japan to transform itself from
an agricultural to an industrial ma
tion. The japanese hold that II is
not feasible to obtain from China, In
the ordinary course of trade, the coal,
iron and other materials which Japan
must have, and in which China
abOunds. Therefore, they say, Japan
must obtain concessions and political
control Of the mine districts. 1t re-
mains to be seen how the Japanese
delegates will make this claim stand
up, In view Of the fact that Japan
Joined with the other powers In
pledges to preserve the territorial in
tegrity Of China.
THE senate spent most of the week
plOwing through the tax bill and
the numerous committee amendments
and those offered by individual sena-
tors. Senator Smoot fought persist
emily for his sales tax idea, offering
three alternative plans, and the SEN
timent in favor of it grew so strong
| that the house leaders we're con-
| strained to send to the senate an
other warning that under no circum-
stances would the house accept a
sales tax as an amendment to the
bill. Chairman Fordney of the house
ways and means committee, however,
said he would incorporate a sales tax
In the soldiers bonus bill which he
intends to introduce at the beginning
of the December session, and he be-
lieved the house might accept this.
Among the many changes in the house
bill voted by the senate was the elm
ination of taxes on musical instru-
ments, sporting goods, chewing gum,
toilet soaps and powders, tooth
washes and pastes, electric fans, ther-
mos bottles and articles made of fur.
G ENATOR TOM WATSON Of
~ Georgia created a sensation, dur
ing the debate on the soldiers bonus,
by making charges that many Ameri-
can soldiers were executed in France
without trial and offering q photo
graph of a gallows at Gievres on
which, he asserted, at least % boys
had been hanged. A special commit
tee was named to investigate Watson's
charges, which were promptly de-
nounced as preposterous by those who
should know. Senator New produced
War department figures showing the
death sentences In France numbered
%, only ten of which, mostly for
crimes against women, were carried
into effect. Capt. w. M. Larner, who
was camp quartermaster at Gievres,
says the scaffold mentioned by Wat
son was erected by him for the exc
cution of one man, who had murdered
military policeman, and that no
other man was executed there during
the entire war.