The Cordova daily times., 1922-04-20

WASHINGTON, April 20.-The high ly advertised economic conference of thirty-one nations which is in session in Genoa is foredoomed to failure, ac- cording to the well-nigh unanimous opinion held by officials of the Amer with the events leading up to the barley.
 It was largely for this reason that the United States declined to partici- pate, turning down the Italian invita- tion in such terms as to leave no, doubt about what America thinks of the conference.
 .. "I regret to inform Your Excellency," wrote Secretary of State Hughes, 4that it has been found impossible to escape the conclusion that the pro- posed conference is not primarily an economic conference, as questions ap- pear to have been excluded from con- sideration without the satisfactory de- termination of which the chief causes of economic disturbance must continue to operate but is rather a conference of a political character in which the gov ernment of the United States could not helpfully participate.'
 Seldom has proposal of one friend ly government been turned down by
 J1 1ar, content with merely sending polite re- grets, the United States went to the length of calling world attention to the emptiness of the project and, by in- ference at least, stated that the whole undertaking was masquerading under 'false colors by pretending to be some thing it was not.
 SCREENING AND CONVEYING FOR
 CREDIT.
 Back of the curt American note lies a considerable background of interna- tional pickering, scheming, conniying and planning, all politiCO-cOmmercial in character, and aimed at re-establish- ing Eastern Europe's ability~to buy on credit. It was the realization that these facts formed the background for the conference that caused the United States so bluntly to decline the invi- tation to ''sit in"
 To put the matter badly, and stripped of all pretense, American of ficials consider the Genoa conference an ambitious scheme engineered by the astute Lloyd George to open up the vast markets of Russia and East ern Europe to British-manufactured goods through some sort of system of international credits, the burden of which would be borne by Great Britain and the United States as the only two nations in the world finan- cially able to support such a project British trade being some 5000 miles nearer the markets, it would natural ly dominate the field.
 Italy, being dependent upon Great Britain for vitally essential coal, and being heavily in her debt, lent her self to the scheme as natural ally.
 France, casting yearning eyes her self on the markets of Europe, and remembering the thirty billions of francs sunk in Russia, is distrustful- so much so that she plainly stipulated that the Genoa conference is not to attempt to deal with separations or change existing treaties and agree ments, under all of which French in- terests are fairly well secured.
 ENGLAND's ECONOMIC POSITION
 AT STAKE
 The economic position of Great Brit ain, then, rather than the economic position of the world generally, lies in the background of the project. And while the administration has only the kindliest consideration and sympathy for the British predicament, this sym pathy does not go to the extent Of being willing to further British trade at the expense of Americas own some what stagnant industry. Nor does 1t go to the extent of being willing to